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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
What Gets Measured Gets Done: Stop Focusing On Irrelevant Broadband Metrics, Scott J. Wallsten
What Gets Measured Gets Done: Stop Focusing On Irrelevant Broadband Metrics, Scott J. Wallsten
Scott J. Wallsten
Concerns regarding the state of U.S. broadband arises from a combination of focusing on the wrong metrics, a misguided interpretation of consumer preferences, and a popular obsession with rankings. These misperceptions translate into misdirected, if well-intentioned, public policies that waste scarce resources and distract from real issues like a large income-based digital divide.
How To Create A More Efficient Broadband Universal Service Program By Incorporating Demand And Cost-Effectiveness Analysis, Scott J. Wallsten
How To Create A More Efficient Broadband Universal Service Program By Incorporating Demand And Cost-Effectiveness Analysis, Scott J. Wallsten
Scott J. Wallsten
The existing high-cost fund suffers from two inherent flaws: it does not incorporate how much consumers value the services being subsidized, and does not measure the incremental, rather than average, effects of the program. This paper proposes a way to incorporate those factors into the Connect America Fund—the proposed high-cost broadband support program—to enable it to operate more efficiently than the existing high-cost program ever could.
In particular, decisions about where to provide subsidies should be based on cost-effectiveness analyses that explicitly take into account not just the cost of providing service but also how much consumers would value the …