Broadband Speeds in Fibered Markets: An Empirical Analysis
The Center for Growth and Opportunity Working Paper
TPRC48: The 48th Research Conference on Communication, Information and Internet Policy
29 Pages Posted: 20 May 2015 Last revised: 22 Feb 2021
Date Written: January 28, 2021
Abstract
Broadband deployment policies have directly subsidized fiber providers because fiber broadband delivers fast download speeds. This paper examines if recent fiber buildout has increased competition for aDSL and cable incumbents and if entry by a fiber competitor predicts faster incumbent download speeds. Despite significant growth in fiber broadband service in the US between December 2014 and December 2018, we observe that the number of fiber competitors in census blocks with aDSL or cable incumbents remains low. Further, our econometric results suggest that the entry of a rival fiber operator does not explain recent increases in cable and aDSL speeds.
Keywords: wireline broadband, fiber broadband, ISP competition, market entry, broadband speeds
JEL Classification: L96, L86, R12
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation