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AbstractA foundational tenet of US broadband policy is that competition will yield benefits to consumers. An outstanding question related to this policy is whether stimulating competition has worked. This study outlines a methodology and index, the broadband evolution index (BEI) that facilitates the spatio‐temporal analysis of broadband markets. Study results suggest lagging areas have caught up to leading areas in terms of the quantity of providers present. They have not caught up with respect to provider choice, platform choice, and access to high broadband speeds. This finding of a persistent urban/rural divide suggests public intervention in private markets is necessary, as is additional evaluation of the efficacy of these intervention strategies.

Since more than two decades, broadband has been recognized in the EU as having great benefits to economic and social development.This recognition is evident in the first EU policy document on the telecommunications market - the 1987 Green Paper - which assumed that harmonization and liberalization through competition mechanism could be used as the tools to bring all those benefits to the European citizens. Although the policy in the following years emphasized the competition mechanism, many additional instruments were developed and implemented in order to make broadband available to all European citizen. Some instruments can be seen in the form of Directives, and some instruments are shown in many policy strategies. All of them have a considerable contribution to the growth of broadband deployment in the EU. However, with globalization, the policy impetus for broadband has shifted toward a means to increase competitiveness of a nation or region.This changing emphasis due to globalization and competitiveness impacts the design of policy instruments. A question can be raised which instruments can serve a new concept of future broadband policy. Against this background, the paper will present an evolutionary concept of broadband policy in the EU by providing a model to integrate the related broadband policy instruments. A timeline of all instruments and initiatives being implemented will be explored. This evolution will be analyzed in order to see what kind of future model is applicable when broadband policy is based on a perspective of globalization and regional competitiveness. The analysis will address how well the existing instruments can serve a new concept of broadband policy and what the needs are for new policy instruments and working structures.

Against a current trend of investing in the next generation networks (NGNs) by using public funds, the Australian government has recently initiated a so-called National Broadband Networks (NBN) project to invest up to AUD$36 billion tax payer's money on building a national wide fibre broadband network aiming to cover 93 per cent Australian by 2020. As being the most costly infrastructure-building project in Australian history, the NBN project will use a public-private-partnership as the instrument to deliver super-fast broadband services, create jobs and promote the country's economy at large. This article will critically analyse the NBN project in Australia and highlight the challenges that are coming alone at this early stage of the deployment, so the Australia's experience of pubic investment in broadband networks can be shared and lessons can be learned.

Most countries dispose towards the development of the information society (IS). Due to increased political interest, there has also been a growing need to collect and compile IS statistics for informed decision-making. Thus, various indicators have been collected and different indices developed to measure IS, to monitor its development and to compare countries in terms of IS performance. Although there is no unambiguous definition of what IS is actually composed of, the availability and use of information and communications technology (ICT) is seen to be an established part of it. This article examines the case of one IS indicator: the measurement of the availability of broadband in Finland from the year 2001 to 2004. The focus is on the overall sensibility of the indicators approach, the evolution of territorial differences at different spatial scales, and the effectiveness of the broadband policy in Finland in years 2001-2004. The analysis shows that the indicators of the availability of broadband might be misleading for purposes of policy formulation and monitoring. The results also indicate that the Finnish broadband policy has resulted in regional differences and spatially uneven impacts in terms of availability. This article is an outgrowth of the ESPON project "Identification of Spatially Relevant aspects of the Information Society".

A Report by the Florence School of Regulation Communications and Media for the Public Consultation on the Needs for Internet Speed and Quality Beyond 2020. Contributors: BRIGLAUER, Wolfgang CAMBINI, Carlo CAVE, Martin PARCU, Pier Luigi ROSSI, Maria Alessandra SHORTALL, Tony SILVESTRI, Virginia VALLETTI, Tommaso ; Internet and its connected innovative technologies are fostering the digital economy and society, one of the main objectives of the European Union and by consequence of the new European Commission. In fact, the deployment of New Generation Networks to ensure specific targets in terms of availability and adoption of fast and high quality Internet connections for European households is one of the main pillars of the Digital Agenda for Europe (DAE) 2020. In spite of the relatively wide set of policy tools put in place at the European and national level, profound differences in terms of broadband coverage and adoption do however persist across member States. These disparities have largely contributed to a feeling of dissatisfaction for the level of investment in broadband networks in Europe. Partly as a response to this view, the European Commission opened a public consultation to assess the need for broadband speed and quality beyond 2020. Following the questions posed by the consultation, this Report intends to focus on targets, i.e. the meta-instrument that precedes the implementation of more traditional policy instruments, such as national plans, sector-specific regulation, competition policy and direct public intervention. In particular, the Report aims at exploring the impact of setting future targets for ultra-fast broadband, also considering the opportunity, and the risks, of formulating targets that specifically favour higher performing technological solutions, i.e. FTTH, which enables connection speeds well above 100 Mbps, over others, i.e. cable, copper, wireless technologies or a mix of them.

Abstract
EU telecommunications regulators have taken a more activist role than those in the US in promoting competition. How successful have they been? Dr. de Bijl notes that over the last decade, the outcomes predicted by EU policymakers have largely failed to materialize. Sustainable facilities-based competition is still remote. A return to monopolies is possible. For the US, this suggests regulation that focuses on promoting innovation and investment while preserving the social benefits of the Internet as a general purpose technology.

Abstract
EU telecommunications regulators have taken a more activist role than those in the US in promoting competition. How successful have they been? Dr. de Bijl notes that over the last decade, the outcomes predicted by EU policymakers have largely failed to materialize. Sustainable facilities-based competition is still remote. A return to monopolies is possible. For the US, this suggests regulation that focuses on promoting innovation and investment while preserving the social benefits of the Internet as a general purpose technology.