Information and communication technologies (ICTs) influence income distribution directly and indirectly. A diverse pattern of decreases and increases in income inequality has emerged in parallel with increasing fixed and mobile connectivity. Building on earlier research, this paper develops a...

Whether it was the intended strategy or not, Google Fiber, which has now "paused" new deployments, agitated incumbent providers, regulators, and investors to change their approach and policies on gig-speed Internet, initiating a "game of Gigs" that broke a stalemate in investments in...

This Chapter discusses the emergence of online word of mouth, the process by which consumers disseminate their views about marketplace goods and services. Due to online word of mouth, consumers have an unprecedented ability to influence the brand perceptions of other consumers. Unfortunately,...

As the EU begins the long and painful process of reversing two decades of interventionist policies that failed to promote either broadband investment, competition or adoption, the experience of the largely deregulated U.S. market provides a natural comparison. This article looks at the widely...

This paper offers evidence of the causal impact of high-speed Internet on sexual behavior and HIV spread in Africa. Our identification strategy exploits individual-level data combined with information on the gradual arrival of submarine Internet cables in Africa’s coastal regions. Robust...

Quality of life challenges, presented by the Covid-19 pandemic, emphasized the importance in achieving progress in making access to voice and broadband data services widespread and affordable. The virus forced nearly everyone to shelter in place, and to rely on wired and wireless technologies...

En las últimas décadas la aceleración del desarrollo de las tecnologías de información y comunicación –en particular de Internet y el acceso a través de conexiones de banda ancha– ha generado transformaciones importantes en las sociedades. Sin embargo, especialmente en los países...

The information and communication technologies (ICT) sectors are in a process of technological convergence. Determinant factors in this process are the liberalisation of the telecommunications markets and technological change. Many firms are engaged in a process of mergers and alliances to...

The paper introduces a dynamic, flexible partial-adjustment model and uses it to analyze the diffusion of Internet connectivity. It specifies and estimates desired levels of Internet diffusion and the speed at which countries achieve the target levels. The target levels and speed of adjustment...