Demand-Side Programs to Stimulate Adoption of Broadband: What Works?

Hauge, Janice A.; Prieger, James E.

doi:10.2139/ssrn.1492342

Cited by 13 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 81 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Previous research on broadband access in the United States indicates that cost is a major factor in non-adoption of the Internet (Hauge and Prieger 2009;Horrigan 2009;Prieger and Hu 2008). Recent FCC research (Horrigan 2010) finds that the average monthly cost of broadband is $40.68, representing an average annual investment of nearly $500 before setup costs, equipment, or maintenance are taken into account.…”

Section: Affordabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Essential Internet: Digital Exclusion in Low‐Income American Communities

Powell

Bryne²,

Dailey³

2010

Policy & Internet

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

As the Internet, and broadband in particular, becomes a platform for social and political engagement, researchers investigate more carefully both the factors that drive broadband adoption and the barriers that constrain it. This paper reports on one of the only large‐scale qualitative studies of the barriers to broadband adoption in the United States, where 30% of the population lack broadband access. The primary research question asks: how can we qualitatively understand barriers to broadband adoption among low‐income communities? The study's community‐based approach, undertaken in four regions of the country, reveals the complex equilibrium of broadband adoption. Drawing from 170 interviews with broadband non‐adopters as well as community access providers and other intermediaries, this study finds that price is only one factor shaping home broadband adoption, and that libraries and other community organizations fill the gap between low home adoption and high demand for broadband. These intermediaries compensate for shortages in digital skills that also constitute barriers to adoption in a context where broadband is essential for gaining access to jobs, education, and e‐government. These three main findings suggest that low‐income people like our research participants are playing roles as actors in an ecology of broadband access games (Dutton et al. 2004). In particular, they are overcoming barriers to being online in order to participate in accessing services and gaining education. This is part of the process of defining broadband as an infrastructure for e‐democracy. The paper recommends a renewed focus on factors that sustain home access rather than drive demand, as well as support for community intermediaries in provisioning public broadband access within a context of skill shortages. It recommends further qualitative research to better understand the role of diverse populations in framing the value of broadband access.

show abstract

Section: Affordabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Essential Internet: Digital Exclusion in Low‐Income American Communities

Powell

Bryne²,

Dailey³

2010

Policy & Internet

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Digital divide initiatives and municipal broadband efforts imagine the supply of Internet infrastructure and infrastructure technologies as neutral to inequality, but artifacts have politics even before they are “present at hand” (Winner, 1980). Within digital divide discourse, nuance tends to be assigned to demand, where Internet and media researchers have made crucial arguments about differences in terms of need and literacy (Hauge and Prieger, 2010). One outcome of our comparison is the need for nuance in terms of infrastructural supply of Internet access.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lit up and left dark: Failures of imagination in urban broadband networks

Halegoua

Lingel

2018

New Media & Society

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The design and deployment of urban broadband infrastructures inscribe particular imaginations of Internet access onto city streets. The different manifestations and locations of these networks, their uses, and access points often expose material excesses of urban broadband networks, as well as failures of Internet service providers, urban planners, and public officials to imagine the diverse ways that people incorporate Internet connection into their everyday lives. We approach the study of urban broadband networks through the juxtaposition of invisible networks that are buried under the streets and have always been "turned off" (dark fiber) versus hypervisible that are "turned on" and prominently displayed on city streets (LinkNYC). In our analysis of these two case studies, we critique themes of visibility and invisibility as indexes of power and access. Our findings are meant to provide a critical analysis of urban technology policy as well as theories of infrastructure, visibility, and access.

show abstract

“…Several studies show that broadband adoption is a multidimensional phenomenon determined by many structural variables, including household income, education levels and age composition (Chinn and Fairlie, 2006;Hauge and Prieger, 2010). These structural variables depend on long-term factors upon which sector-specific policymakers have limited room for action.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prices and Quality of Broadband in Latin America: Benchmarking and Trends

Galperín¹

2012

SSRN Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Executive SummaryAfter several years of growing at rates close to 50%, the fixed broadband market in Latin America is beginning to show signs of slowdown, as a result of saturation levels in higher-income urban areas and low adoption among medium and low-income households. Expanding the boundaries of the fixed broadband market towards these households represents one of the main challenges for telecommunications policy in the region over the coming years.The results of this paper suggest that, in general, fixed broadband prices in Latin America remain above the thresholds that promote the widespread adoption of the service. In particular, a comparison with developed countries suggests that there is ample room for price reductions and improved service quality. The "typical" broadband plan in Latin America is 66% more expensive than in OECD member countries, while, on average, the price per Mbps of download speed in developed countries is seven times cheaper than in Latin America.

show abstract

Demand-Side Programs to Stimulate Adoption of Broadband: What Works?

Cited by 13 publications

References 81 publications

The Essential Internet: Digital Exclusion in Low‐Income American Communities

The Essential Internet: Digital Exclusion in Low‐Income American Communities

Lit up and left dark: Failures of imagination in urban broadband networks

Prices and Quality of Broadband in Latin America: Benchmarking and Trends

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About