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What drives broadband traffic?

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  • Kenny, Robert
  • Kenny, Charles
  • Gehan, Zack

Abstract

Worldwide there is an ongoing policy and regulatory push to make very high speed broadband available as widely as possible. Underlying the policy interventions to support higher speeds is an implicit assumption that higher speeds will enable different (and socially valuable) use. In this paper we empirically test whether higher speed lines are associated with greater household data usage in the UK. We find that after allowing for demographic factors, higher speed in fact has a very limited relationship to traffic. This suggests that mid-speed broadband is not in fact a constraint on household usage (as measured by traffic), and thus the benefits of policy interventions to support higher speeds remain somewhat speculative.

Suggested Citation

  • Kenny, Robert & Kenny, Charles & Gehan, Zack, 2023. "What drives broadband traffic?," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(9).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:telpol:v:47:y:2023:i:9:s0308596123001325
    DOI: 10.1016/j.telpol.2023.102621
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Thi Truong An Hoang & Andreas Knabe, 2021. "Time Use, Unemployment, and Well-Being: An Empirical Analysis Using British Time-Use Data," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 22(6), pages 2525-2548, August.
    2. Alan B. Krueger & Andreas I. Mueller, 2012. "The Lot Of The Unemployed: A Time Use Perspective," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 10(4), pages 765-794, August.
    3. Fabling, Richard & Grimes, Arthur, 2021. "Picking up speed: Does ultrafast broadband increase firm productivity?," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
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    1. Ewa Orzechowska‐Fischer & Emily Rose & Robert Breunig, 2024. "The Dual Risks of Digital Exclusion and Unaffordability of Telecommunications in Lower‐Income Australian Households," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 57(4), pages 319-350, December.

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