Broadband

Over half of subsidies, or $.59 of every dollar, paid through the High-Cost Universal Service Fund go to general expenses of firms, not to directly providing support to high-cost lines, finds Scott Wallsten in “The Universal Service Fund: What Do High-Cost Subsides Subsidize?,” released today by the Technology Policy Institute. This research underscores the inefficiency in the current universal service subsidies program and, in particular, the high-cost fund. Policymakers should use the push to include broadband as part of USF to implement radical reforms.

Residential broadband prices in the U.S. remained fairly stable over the past few years, while the price of business plans in the U.S. has decreased, show Scott Wallsten and James Riso in “Residential and Business Broadband Prices, Part 2: International Comparisons,” released today by the Technology Policy Institute. The authors’ analysis also shows that the price for standalone broadband in the U.S. is in the middle range of prices in OECD countries. The paper is the second part of a comprehensive study on broadband pricing.

Broadband plans with data caps are 15 – 25 percent cheaper than unlimited plans for most consumers, show Scott Wallsten and James Riso in “Residential and Business Broadband Prices, Part 1: An Empirical Analysis of Metering and Other Price Determinants,” released today by the Technology Policy Institute. The authors’ analysis also shows that broadband plans with contracts are cheaper than those without but find the cost of business plans increase with the length of the contract. The paper is part of a comprehensive broadband pricing study performed by Wallsten and Riso exploring residential and business broadband prices in the U.S. and internationally.