Some COST 605 Action participating countries have contributed to a survey on the above subject. The focus is on: 1) social parameters , demographics / employment:/income of needy/poor people, and for measured or assumed mobile service usage and spending 2) cases of individual or groups of needy...

Users are increasingly concerned by the apparently arbitrary and often exorbitant charges for roaming services on their mobile telephones. Charges seem to have no relationship to costs or to best practice. Service providers make little effort to inform customers of the charges they will incur....

This paper examines the effects of spectrum auctions on mobile market competition. A simple theoretical model suggests that bigger incumbents will acquire more spectrum in auction to pre-empt after-market competitors. We use novel data from European 4G spectrum auctions to present suggestive...

This paper presents a techno-economic evaluation of 3G roll-out scenarios in two typical European countries with contrasting profiles, analyzing both the incumbent and newcomers business cases. The analysis is based on a techno-economic methodology developed within ACTS-TERA project. Market and...

Competition authorities and regulatory bodies have increasingly made use of econometric and statistical methods in their analysis. Due to limitations of time and data, so-called screening methods have become more and more important in order to decide whether an in-depth inquiry is warranted....

In this paper, we address the issue of the appropriate market structure in European mobile markets by presenting empirical evidence on the effect of the number of MNO on investment. Using a structural entry model based on a country-level dataset of 28 European countries, we find that, in average...

This paper makes a critical review of the introduction of first 3G mobile services and the evolution of market structure. There is evidence in support of to the quot;overbiddingquot; hypothesis, i.e. license fees determined in auctions were higher than ultimately compatible with the originally...

As the information age progresses, the need for cheap, easy Internet access increases if we want citizens to be able to participate in the global economy. In both the United States and the European Union, cities have taken the lead in attempting to provide Internet access via wireless Internet...

This paper links communications and media usage to social and household economics boundaries. It highlights that in present day society , communications and media are a necessity, but not always affordable , and that they furthermore open up for addictive behaviours which raise additional...