Avoiding a regulatory chimera

In this paper for Chorus, Brian Williamson reviews the proposed approach to fibre regulation in New Zealand which would involve a combination of an anchor product, revenue cap and passive access (on commercial terms). The paper concludes that the proposed set of remedies would be overly constraining on service and pricing flexibility, and that a lower service level anchor product alone would be sufficient, without the addition of a revenue cap.

Broadband in the time of COVID-19

While there was initially concern in the media that broadband networks might not be able to cope with increased traffic due to COVID-19, in reality the internet has held up well. This paper by Robert Kenny explores how UK traffic has changed as result of lockdown, the impact on network performance, and the reasons why ISPs were well placed to cope.

Consumer lock-in for fixed broadband

In this report for the CCIA, Rob Kenny and Aileen Dennis considered the barriers to switching in fixed broadband. Such barriers are important since many regulators expect consumers to 'police' ISP behaviours, such as traffic management policies and net neutrality violations, by switching to another provider if those policies do them harm. However, if switching barriers are high, consumers may not switch even in the face of such harm.

The report considers:

• Which types of switching barriers are present in broadband
• Whether ISP practices and statements suggest they believe switching barriers are high
• Levels of switching between providers
• The likelihood of switching in response to a decline in quality

The report also uses new consumer research to quantify broadband switching barriers, finding that for consumers in France, Germany and Italy they are equivalent to a cost of €183.

Consumer outcomes and price differentiation in UK telecoms

There has been growing attention in UK telecoms to the issue of fairness. In particular, there has been concern regarding 'loyalty penalties' (that is, a reversion to standard prices when initial discounts expire).

This paper by Robert Kenny & Brian Williamson argues that consumer outcomes in UK telecoms have been very positive. Further, price differentiation (and initial discounts in particular) are an absolutely standard feature of many markets. In telecoms initial discounts have great value since they both enhance competition (by acting as a negative switching cost) and encourage adoption.

Highlights of the paper are available as a presentation.

Costs and benefits of FTTH in the UK

On behalf of NESTA, Rob Kenny prepared a paper examining the trade-offs of FTTH deployment in the UK, taking into account evidence on the benefits of faster broadband; the costs of FTTH deployment and the dynamic nature of the decision. The paper includes policy recommendations