The role of public administrations in developing electronic communications infrastructures in Spain

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the direct involvement of public administrations in the supply side of electronic communications markets based on the Spanish experience. It is an example of the difficult balance in the public private interplay in next generation electronic communications networks.Design/methodology/approachStarting from a general overview of the conditions for public intervention in the development of infrastructures established by the electronic communications regulatory framework, this paper analyses the case of Spain as an illustrative example taking into consideration some specific initiatives to illustrate the different possible mechanisms of intervention on the supply side.FindingsIt is the opinion of the authors that a framework of public‐private collaboration in the field of electronic communications infrastructure development is consistent with the industry liberalisation model chosen one decade ago in Spain and it could be particularly adequate in an environment of financial hardship such as the present one, which leads to a greater demand for efficiency in the use of public and private resources. However, the conditions and limitations for public involvement should be persistently respected. In addition, there are novel policy instruments on the supply side that could help the deployment of next generation networks without the burden of substituting private initiative.Originality/valueThe paper presents a systematic analysis of policy instruments for direct intervention of public administrations in the supply side of electronic communications market, including the specific situation of Spain. It is also a contribution to the debate on the role of public administrations in developing electronic communications infrastructures.

WiFi4EU: Techno-economic analysis of a key European Commission initiative for public connectivity

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Long term risk sharing contracts as an approach to establish public–private partnerships for investment into next generation access networks

“…One such scheme would be for the local government to fully or partly finance the deployment of an NGA network to be run as a utility. 8 According to a 4 For instance, Ramos, Arcos, and Amuna (2009) have identified in Spain more than 60 publicly supported broadband network deployment projects.…”

Does the Multilevel Governance of State Aid Encourage Broadband Diffusion? Evidence from Three European Countries

“…As summarised in Table 1, the extant literature has emphasised the plurality of roles played by public actors on both sides of the broadband markets (Gómez-Barroso & Feijóo, 2010;Ramos et al, 2009;Troulos & Maglaris, 2011). Previous research has primarily explored how the interplay between public and private players has affected the development of broadband markets, providing conflicting and ambiguous evidence (Gerli & Whalley, 2018;LaRose, Strover, Gregg, & Straubhaar, 2011;Tapia, Powell, & Ortiz, 2009).…”

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