Examining the policy mix for broadband deployment in Wales: The role of informal coordination in the last mile

Abstract

This paper examines the challenges of deploying broadband policies at the local level. It is a topic that has received significant attention in urban and rural areas, with uneven access to broadband identified as an important issue by policy makers and researchers alike. While the broadband and regional development literature has highlighted the complexity of regional deployment, with reference to geographical metaphors such as the last mile, it has tended to downplay the underlying policy processes as actors seek to manage the deployment process over time and space. Drawing on the concept of the policy mix, the paper examines how actors seek to manage complexity between policy objectives. It does so by drawing on an in-depth case-study of broadband policy in Wales – 2012 to 2017, and shows deployment to be a contested process in the last mile, characterised by interaction between policy objectives in a range of policy areas including planning and highways. It is argued that coordination of these tensions represents a complex socio-spatial process in which local actors (government, households, businesses and broadband providers) engage in a negotiated process to find place-based, bespoke solutions to deployment problems.

Demand-side broadband policy in the context of digital transformation: An examination of SME digital advisory policies in Wales

“…The findings cast light on how policies are shaped by actors from both the public and private sectors ( Gómez-Barroso & Feijóo, 2010 ). That is, public policy making can incorporate a multitude of organisations designing and delivering support ( Flanagan et al, 2011 ), with the potential for policy instruments to mix in order to achieve objectives ( Henderson & Roche, 2020 ). Indeed, while the presence of localised actors such as accountants, lawyers and consultants has long been recognised in the general SME policy literature ( Storey, 1994 ), the results highlight the presence of digital platform providers and other large businesses, offering both physical and online advice to SMEs, thus introducing complexity into the deployment of demand-side broadband policies.…”

“…This research problematises the processes of policy implementation, and examines how effective public and private management of policies can help to improve their outcomes ( Gómez-Barroso & Feijóo, 2010 ). This can be seen, for example, in the challenge of managing multiple demand- and supply-side measures in a particular regional or national policy environment ( OECD, 2008 ), and in the potential for tensions and trade-offs to emerge with respect to policy objectives in areas outside of broadband ( Henderson and Roche, 2020 ).…”

“…Such networks are said to be an important aspect of governance, reflecting ongoing and shifting governing demands brought about by complex societal trends and issues ( Kooiman, 2003 ). The broadband telecommunications literature has tended to underplay the role of such actors in the study of policies ( Gómez-Barroso & Feijóo, 2010 ; Henderson & Roche, 2020 ).…”

The spatial implications of rural business digitalization: case studies from Wales

“…Wales has the largest number of areas without broadband connection in the UK (Roberts et al, 2017). This is a result of market failure where the provision of infrastructure was not profitable for private firms (Henderson & Roche, 2020). Welsh SMEs account for 62.4% of employment and 37.9% of turnover (Welsh Government, 2019).…”

“…Coal as a major source of regional wealth was not replaced and there is limited industrial diversification in the region (Morgan, 2017). Following this downturn, the economy has become characterized by a high degree of services activity (Henderson & Roche, 2020;Marques et al, 2019). Wales underperforms in relation to the UK average and has the highest level of Structural Funding from Europe (Pugh, 2017).…”