Differentiating mobile broadband policies along diffusion levels and evaluating internet neutrality policy scenarios: Panel-data analysis

Abstract

The two studies in this dissertation provide appropriate mobile broadband development strategy and effective tailored Internet neutrality policy scenario for policymakers. The studies try to propose coherent and comprehensive broadband ecosystem by appraising the broadband supply and demand components’ including their respective government policies. Both studies assume that policy mixes for broadband diffusion need to be differentiated depending on where a country stands in the three stages of mobile broadband diffusion because as mobile broadband market grows, demand constraints hindering subscription of mobile broadband will also change. For this study, 115 countries in the first study and 74 countries in the second study are categorized into three groups (Take-off, Fast-Diffusion, and Saturated) and four groups (Without Internet Neutrality Policy, Walled-garden Internet Neutrality Policy, Soft Internet Neutrality Policy, and Hard Internet Neutrality Policy) respectively. The studies took different datasets over four years from 2013 to 2016 and used pooled and fixed effect panel data models for analysis. We run regression models and interactions with the respective independent variables to evaluate significance and identify differential slope (policy) effects of each explanatory variable on dependent variables. The first study concludes that, among the three groups, considerable gaps exist in the size of effective policy choice sets: six for Take-off, ten for Fast-diffusion, and thirteen for Saturated, suggesting that the countries in Take-off stage have a very narrow degree of latitude for designing mobile broadband development strategies. The second study concludes that countries that have been in take-off and fast mobile broadband diffusion stages are effective in MobApps development when they implement WGINP scenario. Those, which are in the Saturated-stage, are effective when they implement HINP. These suggest for policymakers to design Internet development strategies that are tailored to their level of broadband diffusion.