This new report compares broadband penetration, speeds, prices, and use across countries.
Broadband
High-speed data connections, or broadband, are critical to the economy. Our work on broadband covers a wide range of topics, including the digital divide, wireline and wireless provision, spectrum, net neutrality, competition, and more.
U.S. Broadband Market Working Well Overall, But Gaps Remain
The broadband market in the U.S. is working well overall, as evidenced by nearly ubiquitous coverage, rapid adoption, large investments, and increasing speeds, according to comments submitted to the FCC regarding a national broadband plan by TPI Vice President for Research and Senior Fellow Scott Wallsten and Oxford Visiting Senior Fellow Robert Hahn. However, the market is not working well for all people in all places, and Hahn and Wallsten offer two general and seven specific recommendations to address those issues.
Broadband Competition in the 21st Century: A Transatlantic Perspective
The debate over broadband policy transcends national boundaries and has become even more important in the current economic environment as the financial crisis leads the U.S. to include broadband in its economic stimulus efforts and the EU to consider something similar. Since the mid-1990s information and communications technologies have contributed substantially to economic growth, productivity improvements, and, thus, higher living standards on both sides of the Atlantic.
71 Economists Advise Using Procurement Auctions to Allocate Broadband Stimulus Funds
71 economists explain why the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and The Rural Utilities Service should use competitive procurement auctions to allocate the broadband stimulus grants. The economists, in comments submitted to the NTIA and RUS, explain “why procurement auctions are more efficient and more consistent with the stimulus goals of allocating funds quickly than a traditional grant review process.”
The signatories are economists who have studied telecommunications, auctions, and competition policy and include two Nobel Laureates and three winners of the John Bates Clark medal for the best economist under 40. The comments were coordinated by Paul Milgrom, Gregory Rosston, and Andrzej Skrzypacz of Stanford University, and Scott Wallsten of the Technology Policy Institute. Thomas Lenard of TPI is one of the signers of the comments.
Unbundling Inconsistent with Investment in Next-Generation Broadband, New Data Show
DSL unbundling is negatively correlated with new fiber investment, according to new research by TPI Vice President for Research and Senior Fellow Scott Wallsten. Similarly, platform competition (cable and facilities-based DSL providers) is positively correlated with fiber deployment. Wallsten’s paper uses a new dataset to examine empirically the effects of unbundling on investment in new fiber networks in Europe.
Net Neutrality, Unbundling, and their Effects on International Investment in Next-Generation Networks
Network neutrality has been a contentious issue in the United States for several years, but is increasingly debated elsewhere, with the EU, several European countries, and the Japanese government all examining the issue.
Measuring the Effectiveness of the Broadband Stimulus Plan
The newly enacted economic stimulus package includes $7.2 billion in grants, loans, and loan guarantees to bring broadband to rural areas lacking high-speed Internet services. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 charges government agencies not only with choosing grant recipients and setting performance benchmarks, but also with measuring results. Only a carefully preplanned evaluation strategy will enable them to accurately assess the effectiveness of the broadband stimulus.
Wallsten on How to Evaluate Broadband Stimulus Dollars
The recently enacted $7 billion broadband stimulus plan presents a unique opportunity to learn what kinds of broadband subsidies can make a difference, Technology Policy Institute Vice President for Research and Senior Fellow Scott Wallsten explains in a new article.