This paper provides estimates of the economic value created by broadband Internet using measures of new gross domestic product and consumer surplus. The study finds that the economic value created in 30 OECD countries correlates roughly with the overall size of their broadband economies. In...

This report examines “open access” policies and approaches in various contexts, including fixed and mobile access networks, backhaul and backbone networks, undersea cables and Internet exchange points (IXPs). It finds that open access arrangements share some common elements: they refer to...

This research study is the result of a collaboration between the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Internet Society (ISOC) and UNESCO. The study was initially presented at the sixth annual meeting of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) on 27 September 2011 in...

This report examines the development of smart networks and services with particular attention to the implications for communication policy and regulation. The word “smart” has become a term that is frequently affixed to an area where the introduction of networked information and...

This report examines the development of fixed networks and their ability to support the Internet economy. Enhancements to fixed broadband networks remain critical despite the growth in the use of wireless services. In fact, growth in the use of data over wireless networks actually increases...

This report considers the transition from IPv4 to IPv6 alongside the use of network technologies to prolong IPv4 use in the face of depletion of further IPv4 protocol addresses, but it does not aim to address all issues surrounding the transition to IPv6 or to detail the economic incentives...

The OECD has adopted a new basket methodology for benchmarking wireless broadband prices. It adds to the existing baskets for voice, leased lines and fixed broadband services and reflects the increasing importance of wireless broadband for laptops, tablets and smartphones.

This report discusses the main areas in which national strategies to expand broadband networks affect universal service objectives, proposes criteria to rethink the terms of universal service policies, and shares the latest developments across a selected group of OECD countries.

The digital convergence anticipated during the 2008 Seoul Ministerial has become a reality. Historically, communication services were delivered via single-purpose dedicated networks (e.g. telephone, television). Many OECD countries now function with converged networks, facilitated by the...