scispace - formally typeset
Search or ask a question
Journal Article•DOI•

Access Regulation and the Transition from Copper to Fiber Networks in Telecoms

Marc Bourreau1, Carlo Cambini2, Carlo Cambini3, Pinar Dogan4•
Télécom ParisTech1, Polytechnic University of Turin2, European University Institute3, Harvard University4
08 Oct 2013-Social Science Research Network-
TL;DR: In this paper, the impact of different forms of access obligations on firms' incentives to migrate from the legacy copper network to next generation broadband infrastructures is studied, where the authors analyze geographically differential access prices of copper (that depend on whether or not an alternative fiber network has been deployed in the area).
Abstract: In this paper we study the impact of different forms of access obligations on firms’ incentives to migrate from the legacy copper network to next generation broadband infrastructures. We analyze geographically differential access prices of copper (that depend on whether or not an alternative fiber network has been deployed in the area) and ex-ante access obligations for fiber networks. We discuss how these regulatory schemes fare in addressing the tension among different objectives, such as the promotion of static efficiency, fostering investments in new infrastructures, and avoiding unnecessary duplication of (fiber) networks.

Summary (1 min read)

Jump to:  and [Summary]

Summary

  • The Centre is home to a large post-doctoral programme and hosts major research programmes and projects, and a range of working groups and ad hoc initiatives.
  • The research agenda is organised around a set of core themes and is continuously evolving, reflecting the changing agenda of European integration and the expanding membership of the European Union.
  • The EUI and the RSCAS are not responsible for the opinion expressed by the author(s).

Did you find this useful? Give us your feedback

Content maybe subject to copyright    Report

RSCAS 2013/52
Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies
Florence School of Regulation
Access regulation and the transition from copper to
fiber networks in telecoms
Marc Bourreau, Carlo Cambini, Pınar Doğan
European University Institute
Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies
Florence School of Regulation
Access regulation and the transition from copper to fiber
networks in telecoms
Marc Bourreau, Carlo Cambini, Pınar Doğan
EUI Working Paper RSCAS 2013/52
This text may be downloaded only for personal research purposes. Additional reproduction for other
purposes, whether in hard copies or electronically, requires the consent of the author(s), editor(s).
If cited or quoted, reference should be made to the full name of the author(s), editor(s), the title, the
working paper, or other series, the year and the publisher.
ISSN 1028-3625
© Marc Bourreau, Carlo Cambini, Pınar Doğan, 2013
Printed in Italy, July 2013
European University Institute
Badia Fiesolana
I – 50014 San Domenico di Fiesole (FI)
Italy
www.eui.eu/RSCAS/Publications/
www.eui.eu
cadmus.eui.eu
Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies
The Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies (RSCAS), created in 1992 and directed by Stefano
Bartolini since September 2006, aims to develop inter-disciplinary and comparative research and to
promote work on the major issues facing the process of integration and European society.
The Centre is home to a large post-doctoral programme and hosts major research programmes and
projects, and a range of working groups and ad hoc initiatives. The research agenda is organised
around a set of core themes and is continuously evolving, reflecting the changing agenda of European
integration and the expanding membership of the European Union.
Details of the research of the Centre can be found on:
http://www.eui.eu/RSCAS/Research/
Research publications take the form of Working Papers, Policy Papers, Distinguished Lectures and
books. Most of these are also available on the RSCAS website:
http://www.eui.eu/RSCAS/Publications/
The EUI and the RSCAS are not responsible for the opinion expressed by the author(s).
Florence School of Regulation
The Florence School of Regulation (FSR) is a partnership between the Robert Schuman Centre for
Advanced Studies (RSCAS) at the European University Institute (EUI), the Council of the European
Energy Regulators (CEER) and the Independent Regulators Group (IRG). Moreover, as part of the
EUI, the FSR works closely with the European Commission.
The objectives of the FSR are to promote informed discussions on key policy issues, through
workshops and seminars, to provide state-of-the-art training for practitioners (from European
Commission, National Regulators and private companies), to produce analytical and empirical
researches about regulated sectors, to network, and to exchange documents and ideas.
At present, its scope is focused on the regulation of Energy (electricity and gas markets), of
Communications & Media, and of Transport.
This series of working papers aims at disseminating the work of scholars and practitioners on current
regulatory issues.
For further information
Florence School of Regulation
Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies
European University Institute
Via Boccaccio, 151
I-50133 Firenze
Tel.: +39 055 4685 751
Fax: +39 055 4685 755
E-mail: fsr@eui.eu
http://www.eui.eu/RSCAS/ProfessionalDevelopment/FSR/
Citations
More filters
Journal Article•DOI•
Fiber deployment in Spain

[...]

Joan Calzada1, Begoña García-Mariñoso, Jordi Ribé, Rafael M. Rubio, David Suarez •
University of Barcelona1
19 May 2018-Journal of Regulatory Economics
TL;DR: In this paper, the economic and competition determinants that serve as incentives for operators to invest in fiber-to-the-home technology are examined, showing that local loop unbundling competition has a strong positive impact on Telefonica's fiber deployment, while bitstream competition had a negative effect.
Abstract: Next generation access networks will be critical for future economic growth and access to these infrastructures will have major consequences for territorial and social cohesion. This paper examines the economic and competition determinants that serve as incentives for operators to invest in fiber-to-the-home technology. We draw on a dataset comprising 6603 Spanish municipalities with access to broadband services to examine the incumbent’s (Telefonica) deployment of fiber in the period 2010–2013. We show that local loop unbundling competition had a strong positive impact on Telefonica’s fiber deployment, while bitstream competition had a negative effect. Moreover, the incumbent was more likely to invest in municipalities with a large presence of cable operators. We also consider how the municipalities’ sociodemographic characteristics affected the operator’s deployment decision. While market size and population density had a positive effect on investment, the level of unemployment and the percentage of elderly population had a negative impact.

8 citations

Posted Content•
A CDS Approach to Induce Facilities-Based Competition Over NGA Networks

[...]

Markos Tselekounis1, Dimitris Varoutas1, Drakoulis Martakos1•
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens1
23 Nov 2013-Social Science Research Network
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present an approach based on the basic principles governing a Credit Default Swap (CDS), which is an effective migration path towards facilities-based competition over Next Generation Access (NGA) networks.
Abstract: The current regulatory framework in the European NGA market provides the basic principles for the gradual migration from service-based competition over the legacy copper access networks to facilities-based competition over fiber-based Next Generation Access (NGA) networks. This paper initially reviews the related literature and shows that: (i) an unbundling policy that boosts entry by alternative operators promotes service-based competition but provides operators with disincentives to invest in network upgrade; (ii) there is no consensus about the optimal regulatory policy that promotes competition and encourages investments in NGA networks; and (iii) the reviewed research articles are not consistent with the current regulatory framework in the European NGA market in terms of both the evolution of the regulatory goals over time and the recommended regulatory settings. This paper aims to propose a novel approach in order to effectively meet the current regulatory goals using the recommended settings. It is shown that the proposed approach, which is based on the basic principles governing a Credit Default Swap (CDS), provides an effective migration path towards facilities-based competition over NGA networks.

8 citations

Journal Article•DOI•
Fiber to the People: The Development of the Ultra‐Broadband Network in Italy

[...]

Carlo Cambini1, Carlo Cambini2, Michele Polo3, Antonio Sassano4•
European University Institute1, Polytechnic University of Turin2, Bocconi University3, Sapienza University of Rome4
16 Feb 2016-Social Science Research Network
TL;DR: In this paper, the main technological solutions for ultra-fast broadband connections and summarize the main economic literature on the role of regulation to support infrastructure investment in broadband networks are summarized and analyzed.
Abstract: In this paper, we firstly revise the main technological solutions for ultra‐fast broadband connections and summarize the main economic literature (both theoretical and empirical) on the role of regulation to support infrastructure investment in broadband networks. We then move to the core of our analysis, that is to assess the relative positioning of the Italian market today in terms of deployment and penetration of broadband access, and then analyse the main relevant policy issues involved in the current Italian plans for broadband deployment. Our goal is to propose a policy framework for fostering the deployment of the Italian ultra‐fast broadband network and evaluate the Government master plan. The analysis will also give the opportunity to provide our contribution to the current debate and to suggest how industrial policies in a market‐oriented perspective should be re‐considered.

7 citations

Journal Article•DOI•
Legal separation of BT: A necessary incentive for investment?

[...]

Richard Cadman
01 Feb 2019-Telecommunications Policy
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that strategic discrimination is an unhelpful concept as a firm under an Equivalence of Input obligation, as BT was, can gain no strategic advantage for its retail business through an investment in an access product it has to make available to all wholesale customers on the same terms.

5 citations

Journal Article•DOI•
Is a fine-tuning approach sufficient for EU NGA policy? A global review around the long-lasting debate

[...]

Mehmet Bilal Ünver
01 Dec 2015-Telecommunications Policy
TL;DR: In this paper, regulatory policies with regard to Next Generation Access (NGA) networks are analysed through a four-part categorisation: (i) conventional type (i.e., copper-based) regulation, (ii) no imposition of mandatory access, (iii) regulatory holiday, and (iv) full deregulation.

5 citations

References
More filters
Posted Content•
Network externalities, competition, and compatibility

[...]

Michael L. Katz
01 Jan 1985-The American Economic Review

6,100 citations

Posted Content•
Broadband Infrastructure and Economic Growth

[...]

Nina Czernich, Oliver Falck, Tobias Kretschmer, Ludger Wößmann
01 Jan 2009-Research Papers in Economics
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors estimate the effect of broadband infrastructure, which enables high-speed internet, on economic growth in the panel of OECD countries in 1996-2007, and find that a 10 percentagepoint increase in broadband penetration raises annual per-capita growth by 0.9-1.5 percentage points.
Abstract: We estimate the effect of broadband infrastructure, which enables high-speed internet, on economic growth in the panel of OECD countries in 1996-2007. Our instrumental-variable model derives its non-linear first stage from a logistic diffusion model where pre-existing voice-telephony and cable-TV networks predict maximum broadband penetration. We find that a 10 percentage-point increase in broadband penetration raises annual per-capita growth by 0.9-1.5 percentage points. Results are robust to country and year fixed effects and controlling for linear second-stage effects of our instruments. We verify that our instruments predict broadband penetration but not diffusion of contemporaneous technologies like mobile telephony and computers.

767 citations

Journal Article•DOI•
Broadband investment and regulation: A literature review

[...]

Carlo Cambini1, Yanyan Jiang•
Polytechnic University of Turin1
01 Nov 2009-Telecommunications Policy
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors survey the relevant theoretical and empirical literature on the relationship between regulation, at both retail and wholesale level, and investment in telecoms infrastructures, and conclude that the picture that emerges is not conclusive, and further research is still needed, both theoretically and empirically, to better understand the real impact of regulatory incentives on investments.

385 citations

Journal Article•DOI•
Strategic investments with spillovers, vertical integration and foreclosure in the broadband access market

[...]

Øystein Foros1•
Norwegian School of Economics1
01 Jan 2004-International Journal of Industrial Organization
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyse competition between two retailers of broadband access when they differ in their ability to offer value-added services, and show that access price regulation may lower consumer surplus and welfare if retailers do not differ too much.

177 citations

Journal Article•DOI•
Access Pricing, Competition, and Incentives to Migrate From "Old" to "New" Technology

[...]

Marc Bourreau1, Carlo Cambini2, Pinar Dogan3•
Télécom ParisTech1, Polytechnic University of Turin2, Harvard University3
01 Nov 2012-International Journal of Industrial Organization
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyze the incentives of an incumbent and an entrant to migrate from an "old" technology to a "new" technology, and discuss how the terms of wholesale access affect this migration.

127 citations

Related Papers (5)
Access regulation and the transition from copper to fiber networks in telecoms

[...]

20 Feb 2014-Journal of Regulatory Economics
Marc Bourreau, Carlo Cambini, Pinar Dogan
Dynamic access pricing and investment in alternative infrastructures

[...]

01 Mar 2010-International Journal of Industrial Organization
Alessandro Avenali, Giorgio Matteucci, Pierfrancesco Reverberi
Geographic Access Rules and Investments

[...]

01 Jun 2012-Social Science Research Network
Marc Bourreau, Carlo Cambini, Carlo Cambini, Steffen Hoernig 
Unbundling and infrastructure competition for broadband adoption

[...]

01 Sep 2014-Telecommunications Policy
Chatchai Kongaut, Erik Bohlin
Strategic choice of financing systems in regulated and interconnected industries

[...]

01 Feb 2005-Journal of Public Economics
Anna Bassanini, Jerome Pouyet
Frequently Asked Questions (6)
Q1. What are the objectives of the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies?

The objectives of the FSR are to promote informed discussions on key policy issues, through workshops and seminars, to provide state-of-the-art training for practitioners (from European Commission, National Regulators and private companies), to produce analytical and empirical researches about regulated sectors, to network, and to exchange documents and ideas. 

At present, its scope is focused on the regulation of Energy (electricity and gas markets), of Communications & Media, and of Transport. 

The Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies (RSCAS), created in 1992 and directed by Stefano Bartolini since September 2006, aims to develop inter-disciplinary and comparative research and to promote work on the major issues facing the process of integration and European society. 

The research agenda is organised around a set of core themes and is continuously evolving, reflecting the changing agenda of European integration and the expanding membership of the European Union. 

Florence School of Regulation Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies European University Institute Via Boccaccio, 151 I-50133 Firenze Tel.: +39 055 4685 751 Fax: +39 055 4685 755 E-mail: fsr@eui.eu http://www.eui.eu/RSCAS/ProfessionalDevelopment/FSR/ aa w~0.400 a 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.40.200.300.100.00 

Details of the research of the Centre can be found on: http://www.eui.eu/RSCAS/Research/Research publications take the form of Working Papers, Policy Papers, Distinguished Lectures and books.