Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Right-Sizing Spectrum Auction Licenses: The Case For Smaller Geographic License Areas In The Tv Broadcast Incentive Auction, William H. Lehr Phd, J. Armand Musey Cfa

J. Armand Musey, CFA

The wireless sector is a key contributor to economic activity and growth. Over the next several years, wireless service providers are expected to invest $25 to $53 billion upgrading and expanding their networks to deploy 4G mobile broadband across the nation. All told, wireless broadband investment and the services and innovation supported by such investment are expected to add between $259 and $355 billion to US GDP each year through 2017. The Federal Communications Commission ("Commission" or "FCC") is currently designing the largest ever auction of terrestrial wireless spectrum, currently planned for late 2014 (the "Incentive Auction"). The purpose is …

The Broadband Digital Divide And The Economic Benefits Of Mobile Broadband For Rural Areas, James Prieger

James E. Prieger

Broadband is becoming increasingly important to national economies and the personal lives of users. However, broadband availability and adopation are not diffusing in rural and urban areas at the same rates. This article updates the rural broadband digital divide, with special attention paid to mobility. Empirical estimations of broadband provision and usage in the US show that rural areas have fewer high-speed fixed and mobile providers but more slower-speed fixed providers than urban areas. While rural availability of mobile broadband is lower than in urban areas, it still helps fill in gaps in fixed broadband coverage in rural areas. The …

The Future Of Digital Communications Research And Policy, Scott J. Wallsten

Scott J. Wallsten

No abstract provided.

Residential And Business Broadband Prices Part 2: International Comparisons, Scott J. Wallsten, James Riso

Scott J. Wallsten

For this project, we assemble a new dataset consisting of more than 25,000 residential and business broadband plans from all OECD countries from 2007–2009. We explore three issues: the relationship between plan components—such as metering—and consumer prices, price changes over time, and how broadband prices vary across countries.

This paper, part 2 of the project, studies prices and price changes over time in the United States and other OECD countries. We find that residential prices in the U.S. remained fairly stable overall in this time period for both standalone and triple play (voice, video, and data) plans, though prices for …

Optical Fibre Access Networks And The Recession, Ewan Sutherland

Ewan Sutherland

The economic recession has been an opportunity for the telecommunications industry to call for investment in optical fibre access networks as a stimulus towards economic recovery. This argument is tested against the background of developments in Singapore, France, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

Unbundled Local Loops - Global Best Practice, Ewan Sutherland

Ewan Sutherland

A review of experiences in a number of markets where local loop unbundling has been attempted. Concluding that the policy is unlikely to be effective in most developing countries because of the lack of local loops, their poor quality and the limited capacity of regulators to enforce non-discriminatory access.

Broadband Penetration: An Empirical Analysis Of State And Federal Policies, Scott J. Wallsten

Scott J. Wallsten

No abstract provided.