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State broadband policy: Impacts on availability

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  • Whitacre, Brian
  • Gallardo, Roberto

Abstract

We use a county-level panel dataset from 2012 to 2018 to assess the impacts of various state policies on total and rural broadband availability in the United States. The primary dependent variable is the percentage of residents with access to 25 Megabits per second (MBPS) download and 3 MBPS upload speeds via a fixed connection, with alternative specifications considering other aspects of availability such as technology type and competition. We control for the main determinants of Internet availability such as income, education, age, and population density. Our policy variables come from the newly released State Broadband Policy Explorer from the Pew Charitable Trusts and individual contacts from the nationwide State Broadband Leaders Network. Our primary policies of interest are those related to: (1) availability of state-level funding, (2) existence of a state-level broadband office/task force with full-time employees, and (3) restrictions on municipal/cooperative broadband provision. We find a positive and significant impact of state-level funding programs on general (and fiber) broadband availability, and a negative impact of municipal/cooperative restrictions. The findings are similar when the analysis is restricted to the rural portions of counties.

Suggested Citation

  • Whitacre, Brian & Gallardo, Roberto, 2020. "State broadband policy: Impacts on availability," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(9).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:telpol:v:44:y:2020:i:9:s0308596120301178
    DOI: 10.1016/j.telpol.2020.102025
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Daniel J. Mallinson & Saahir Shafi, 2022. "Smart home technology: Challenges and opportunities for collaborative governance and policy research," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 39(3), pages 330-352, May.
    3. Gary A. Wagner & Hyun Ji Lee, 2024. "Does broadband affect local economic outcomes less than we thought? Micro evidence from Louisiana," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 42(1), pages 68-93, January.
    4. repec:rre:publsh:v:50:y:2020:i:3 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Wolfgang Briglauer & Michał Grajek, 2021. "Effectiveness and efficiency of state aid for new broadband networks: Evidence from OECD member states," ESMT Research Working Papers ESMT-21-01, ESMT European School of Management and Technology.
    6. Tang, Chang & Xue, Yan & Wu, Haitao & Irfan, Muhammad & Hao, Yu, 2022. "How does telecommunications infrastructure affect eco-efficiency? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    7. Isley, Catherine & Low, Sarah A., 2022. "Broadband adoption and availability: Impacts on rural employment during COVID-19," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(7).
    8. King, Jesse & Gonzales, Amy L., 2023. "The influence of digital divide frames on legislative passage and partisan sponsorship: A content analysis of digital equity legislation in the U.S. from 1990 to 2020," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(7).
    9. Lee, Hyeongjik & Jeong, Seonkoo & Lee, Kwanghee, 2023. "The South Korean case of deploying rural broadband via fiber networks by implementing universal service obligation and public-private partnership based project," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(3).
    10. Biedny, Christina & Whitacre, Brian & Gallardo, Roberto, 2022. "Do ‘dig once’ and permitting policies improve fiber availability?," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(5).

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