Driving Demand for Broadband Networks and Services

This book examines the reasons why various sectors of the population in countries across the world choose not to adopt broadband services and evaluates strategies to stimulate the demand that will lead to increased broadband use. It introduces readers to the benefits of higher adoption rates while examining the progress that developed and emerging countries alike have made in stimulating broadband demand. By providing an explanation of concepts such as a supply and demand gap, broadband price elasticity, and demand promotion, this book explains differences between fixed and mobile broadband demand gap, introducing the notions of substitution and complementarity between both platforms. Building on these concepts, Driving Demand for Broadband Networks and Services ultimately offers a set of best practices and recommendations aimed at promoting broadband demand. The broadband demand gap is defined as individuals and households that could buy a broadband subscription because they live in areas served by telecommunications carriers but do not do so because of either economic, limited awareness, or lack of digital literacy reasons. The percentage of population that qualify for this grouping could range from 30% in the United States, 40% in Germany, and over 80% in most emerging countries. Research indicates that broadband usage is critical for social development, economic performance, and overall welfare and it would thus behove governments to encourage demand. Prior work on the topic of broadband diffusion has primarily focused on the supply side of low broadband penetration rates, based on the lack of service availability. This study is the first of its kind to address the demand side of this equation, incorporating an economic analysis (supply and demand, price elasticity, etc.) while offering real world examples of policies and initiatives that have successfully spurred demand in developed and emerging markets alike. This book is intended for policy makers, managers of private telecommunications operators, as well as academics and graduate students in the areas of public policy, economic development, and technology management.