|
EconStor >
Northwestern University >
Department of Economics - Center for the Study of Industrial Organization (CSIO), Northwestern University >
CSIO Electronic Working Papers, Northwestern University >
Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
http://hdl.handle.net/10419/38647
|
| | |
| Title: | | Understanding why universal service obligations may be unnecessary: The private development of local internet access markets  |
| Authors: | | Downes, Tom Greenstein, Shane M |
| Issue Date: | | 2006 |
| Series/Report no.: | | CSIO working paper 0082 |
| Abstract: | | This study analyzes the geographic spread of commercial Internet Service Providers (ISPs), the leading suppliers of Internet access. The geographic spread of ISPs is a key consideration in U.S. policy for universal access. We examine the Fall of 1998, a time of minimal government subsidy, when inexpensive access was synonymous with a local telephone call to an ISP. Population size and location in a metropolitan statistical area were the single most important determinants of entry, but their effects on national, regional and local firms differed, especially on the margin. The thresholds for entry were remarkably low for local firms. Universal service in less densely-populated areas was largely a function of investment decisions by ISPs with local focus. There was little trace of the early imprint of government subsidies for Internet access at major U.S. universities. |
| Subjects: | | Internet universal service geographic diffusion telecommunications |
| JEL: | | I10 L86 L96 R11 |
| Document Type: | | Working Paper |
| Appears in Collections: | | CSIO Electronic Working Papers, Northwestern University
|
| Files in This Item:
| |
|
| No. of Downloads:
| |
| last Month |
last 3 Month |
total |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| | |
Download bibliographical data as:
BibTeX
|
| |
Share on:http://hdl.handle.net/10419/38647
|
Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.
|