Regulatory Independence - Revisited

In this note, Brian Williamson revists the rationale for regulatory independence, and how it fits with increasing government ambitions for network infrastructure

Small business bandwidth requirements

This study, on behalf of the UK's Broadband Stakeholder Group, considers current and forecast bandwidth needs of small businesses. As far as we are aware, it is the first such forecast ever to be published.

The report is based on rigorous research and sophisticated modelling. It highlights the diversity of small business requirements, driven by the differing needs of various industries and the range of business sizes. The report also discusses the policy implications of our findings. 

The supporting model has also been published. Note that this is an 86MB file

Superfast - Is it really worth a subsidy?

This paper by Robert Kenny and his brother Charles considers whether subsidies for superfast broadband (typically based on fibre-to-the-home) are justified. It takes a close look at the social and economic arguments for subsidies, and finds that they do not stand up to scrutiny.

The paper has attracted considerable attention, particularly in Australia, where the government is investing over A$50bn in rolling out fibre-to-the-home. It was cited in the House of Representatives and presented to MPs. Some of the reaction was favourable, some was not (a reply to the latter is here, on page 6).

An academic version of the paper was published in the journal info (Vol. 13 Iss: 4, pp.3 - 29). info were kind enough to name it their Paper of the Year.

In addition to the long-form report, there is also a shorter version.