What Influences International Differences in Broadband Prices?
Main Article Content
Keywords
broadband, comparative prices, price factors, Balassa-Samuelson effect, Australia
Abstract
Broadband prices differ significantly throughout the world, however discussion of why receives little attention in the academic and policy literature. Focussing on landline broadband, this exploratory article helps fill a knowledge gap by discussing some methodologies for comparing broadband prices between countries, and suggesting five factors that influence broadband prices: demand, supply, average price level, regulation, and physical/infrastructural factors. In this discussion, we also examine where Australia sits in relation to global broadband prices.
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References
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Bourreau, M., Dogan, P. and Manant. M. 2010. ‘A Critical Review of the “Ladder of Investment” Approach’, Telecommunications Policy, 34(11): 683-696.
Calzada, J. and Martínez-Santos, F. 2016. ‘Pricing Strategies and Competition in the Mobile Broadband Market’, Journal of Regulatory Economics, 50(1): 70-98.
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RTIRC (Regional Telecommunications Independent Review Committee). 2015. Issues Paper. Available at: https://www.communications.gov.au/sites/g/files/net301/f/RTIRC_Independent_Committee_Review_2015_FINAL.pdf [Accessed 04 Oct. 2016].
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Schneir, R.J. and Xiong, Y. 2016. ‘A Cost Study of Fixed Broadband Access Networks for Rural Areas’, Telecommunications Policy, 40(8): 755-773.
Starosielski, N. 2015. The Undersea Network. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Summers, R. and Heston, A. 1991. ‘The Penn World Table (Mark 5): An Expanded Set of International Comparisons, 1950-1988’ The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 106(2): 327.
The Economist. 2013. The Big Mac Index. Available at: http://www.economist.com/content/big-mac-index [Accessed 10 Sep. 2016].
White, N. 2016. ‘Australian Internet Costs 17x More than Europe Thanks to Telstra Optus’. [online] Available at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3748287/Security-company-claims-Australian-bandwidth-costs-17-times-Europe-thanks-Telstra-Optus.html [Accessed 29 Sep. 2016].
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Akamai. 2015. State of the Internet Report. Akamai.com. Retrieved 18 October 2016, from https://www.akamai.com/us/en/our-thinking/state-of-the-internet-report
Biggs, P. and Kelly, T. 2006. ‘Broadband Pricing Strategies’, Info, 8(6): 3-13.
Bouckaert, J., van Dijk, T. and Verboven, F. 2010. ‘Access Regulation, Competition and Broadband Penetration: An International Study’, Telecommunications Policy, 34(11): 661-671.
Bourreau, M., Dogan, P. and Manant. M. 2010. ‘A Critical Review of the “Ladder of Investment” Approach’, Telecommunications Policy, 34(11): 683-696.
Calzada, J. and Martínez-Santos, F. 2016. ‘Pricing Strategies and Competition in the Mobile Broadband Market’, Journal of Regulatory Economics, 50(1): 70-98.
de Ridder, J. and James, B. 2013. ‘Affordable Retail Pricing on the NBN’, Australian Journal of Telecommunications and the Digital Economy, 1(1), http://telsoc.org/ajtde/2013-11-v1-n1/a5
Falch, M. 2007. ‘Penetration of Broadband Services: The Role of Policies’. Telematics and Informatics, 24(4): 246-258.
Falkner, M., Devetsikiotis, M. and Lambadaris, I. 2000. ‘An Overview of Pricing Concepts for Broadband IP Networks’. IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials, 3(2): 2-13.
FCC (Federal Communications Commission). 2015. 2015 Measuring Broadband America Fixed Report. Available at: https://www.fcc.gov/reports-research/reports/measuring-broadband-america/measuring-broadband-america-2015 [Accessed 29 Sep. 2016].
Flamm, K. 2005.‘The Role of Economics, Demographics, and State Policy in Broadband Availability’, LBJ School of Public Affairs. Available at: http://bear.warrington.ufl.edu/centers/purc/DOCS/PRESENTATIONS/events/0205%20LBS/papers/Flamm-flammbb0205.pdf [Accessed 05 Oct. 2016].
Flamm, K. and Chaudhuri, A. 2007. ‘An Analysis of the Determinants of Broadband Access’, Telecommunications Policy 31: 312-326.\
Fletcher, P. 2009. Wired Brown Land? Telstra’s Battle for Broadband. Sydney: New South Press.
Gregory, M. 2016. ‘The Rationale for Universal Access to Digital Services’, Australian Journal of Telecommunications and the Digital Economy, 3(4): 166-184.
Hopewell, L. 2014. Report: Most Australians Have Crappy Internet Speeds. Available at: http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2014/01/most-aussies-have-crappy-internet-speeds [Accessed 29 Sep. 2016].
ITU (International Telecommunication Union). 2015. The State of Broadband. Available at: http://www.broadbandcommission.org/documents/reports/bb-annualreport2015.pdf [Accessed 11 Sep. 2016].
La Mala Palabra. 2014. INTERNET: ‘Bolivia tendrá fibra óptica dentro de un año, promesa de Álvaro García Linera. 6 October 2014. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhr5_II06Z0. [Accessed: 5 October 2016].
McLean, R. and Sharkey, W. 1993. ‘An Approach to the Pricing of Broadband Telecommunications Services’, Telecommunication Systems, 2(1):159-184.
Morsillo, R. 2012. ‘Affordable Broadband for All Australians’, Telecommunications Journal of Australia, 62 (5): 80.1-80.16.
Nevo, A., Turner, J. and Williams, J. 2016. ‘Usage-Based Pricing and Demand for Residential Broadband’, Econometrica, 84(2): 411-443.
Numbeo. 2016. Price Rankings by Country of Internet (10 Mbps, Unlimited Data, Cable/ADSL) (Utilities (Monthly)). [online] Numbeo.com. Available at: http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_price_rankings?itemId=33 [Accessed 15 Sep. 2016].
OECD. 2015a. Monthly Comparative Price Levels. Available at: https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx%3FDataSetCode%3DCPL+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=au [Accessed 09 Sep. 2016].
OECD. 2015b. Average Annual Wages. Available at: http://stats.oecd.org/oecdstat_metadata/showmetadata.ashx?dataset=av_an_wage
OECD. 2016a. OECD Broadband Portal - OECD. Available at: http://www.oecd.org/sti/broadband/oecdbroadbandportal.htm [Accessed 11 Sep. 2016].
OECD. 2016b. Average Annual Wages. Available at: https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=AV_AN_WAGE [Accessed 15 Sep. 2016].
OECD. 2016c. OECD Broadband Statistics Table 3a. OECD Fixed (Wired) Broadband Penetration and Population Densities. Available at: https://www.oecd.org/sti/broadband/39574903.xls+&cd=1&hl=ru&ct=clnk&gl=au [Accessed 5 Oct. 2016].
Polykalas, S. and Vlachos, K. 2006. ‘Broadband Penetration and Broadband Competition: Evidence and Analysis in the EU Market, info, 8(6): 15-30.
Rogers, S. 2016. ‘Bridging the 21st Century Digital Divide’, TechTrends, 60(3): 197-199.
RTIRC (Regional Telecommunications Independent Review Committee). 2015. Issues Paper. Available at: https://www.communications.gov.au/sites/g/files/net301/f/RTIRC_Independent_Committee_Review_2015_FINAL.pdf [Accessed 04 Oct. 2016].
Samuelson, P. 1994. Facets of Balassa-Samuelson Thirty Years Later. Review of International Economics, 2(3): 201-226.
Schneir, R.J. and Xiong, Y. 2016. ‘A Cost Study of Fixed Broadband Access Networks for Rural Areas’, Telecommunications Policy, 40(8): 755-773.
Starosielski, N. 2015. The Undersea Network. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Summers, R. and Heston, A. 1991. ‘The Penn World Table (Mark 5): An Expanded Set of International Comparisons, 1950-1988’ The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 106(2): 327.
The Economist. 2013. The Big Mac Index. Available at: http://www.economist.com/content/big-mac-index [Accessed 10 Sep. 2016].
White, N. 2016. ‘Australian Internet Costs 17x More than Europe Thanks to Telstra Optus’. [online] Available at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3748287/Security-company-claims-Australian-bandwidth-costs-17-times-Europe-thanks-Telstra-Optus.html [Accessed 29 Sep. 2016].
World Bank. (2016). GDP per capita (current US$) | Data. [online] Available at: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD [Accessed 12 Sep. 2016].
Article Sidebar
Published
Jan 11, 2017
Article Details
How to Cite
Grechyn, V., & McShane, I. (2017). What Influences International Differences in Broadband Prices?. Journal of Telecommunications and the Digital Economy, 4(4), 89–105. https://doi.org/10.18080/jtde.v4n4.67
Issue
Section
Telecommunications
Copyright Telecommunications Association Inc.
Author Biographies
Viktor Grechyn, RMIT
PhD candidate, Centre for Urban ResearchIan McShane, RMIT
Senior Research Fellow, School of Global, Urban & Social Studies, RMIT
