Drivers of fixed and mobile broadband infrastructure adoption and quality

The benefits of advanced information and communication services are increasingly dependent on the quality of the available connectivity. This paper examines the factors that influence the quality of fixed and mobile broadband access in OECD countries. Drawing on institutional economics, the study provides an integrated conceptual framework that allows analyzing the interaction of supply, demand, policy, and contextual factors. We explore the drivers of broadband access and quality and potential interdependencies between them. Our focus is on the role of public policy decisions as a determinant of quality and quality upgrades of fixed and mobile access networks. We also find evidence that regulatory interventions such as unbundling or open access provision do have a positive contribution in markets with limited competition. However, the findings also provide evidence that the best policy approach is dependent on the specific context of a country so that no single best practice model emerges from the observations.