Access Pricing, Competition, and Incentives to Migrate From"Old" to "New" Technology - Harvard Kennedy School of Government RWP11-029

In this paper, we analyze the incentives of an incumbent and an entrant to migrate from an "old" technology to a "new" technology, and discuss how the terms of wholesale access affect this migration. We show that a higher access charge on the legacy network pushes the entrant firm to invest more, but has an ambiguous effect on the incumbent's investments, due to two conflicting effects: the wholesale revenue effect, and the business migration effect. If both the old and the new infrastructures are subject to ex-ante access regulation, we also find that the two access charges are positively correlate

Speeding Up the Internet: Regulation and Investment in the European Fiber Optic Infrastructure

In this paper, we study how the coexistence of access regulations for legacy (copper) and fiber networks shapes the incentives to invest in fiber-based network infrastructures. To this end, we first develop a theoretical model that extends the existing literature by, among other things, considering alternative firms with proprietary legacy network (e.g., cable operators) and the presence of asymmetric mandated access to networks. In the empirical part, we test the theoretical predictions using a novel panel data from 27 EU member states pertaining to the last decade. Our main finding is that, in line with the theoretical results, stricter access regulations (i.e., a decrease in access price to legacy network and the adoption of fiber regulation) decrease the incumbent operators' fiber investments. The estimated magnitude of these effects is economically significant. On the other hand, cable operators, who are responsible for the largest share of investments in fiber, are not affected by access regulation. Our paper thus provides policy insights for the on-going revision of the EU regulation framework for the electronic communications industry

Access Pricing, Competition, and Incentives to Migrate From“Old” to “New” Technology - Harvard Kennedy School of Government RWP11-029

In this paper, we analyze the incentives of an incumbent and an entrant to migrate from an “old” technology to a “new” technology, and discuss how the terms of wholesale access affect this migration. We show that a higher access charge on the legacy network pushes the entrant firm to invest more, but has an ambiguous effect on the incumbent’s investments, due to two conflicting effects: the wholesale revenue effect, and the business migration effect. If both the old and the new infrastructures are subject to ex-ante access regulation, we also find that the two access charges are positively correlated

Access regulation and the transition from copper to fiber networks in telecoms

In this paper we study the impact of different forms of access obligations on firms’ incentives to migrate from the legacy copper network to ultra-fast broadband infrastructures. We analyze three different kinds of regulatory interventions: geographical regulation of access to copper networks–where access prices are differentiated depending on whether or not an alternative fiber network has been deployed; access obligations on fiber networks and its interplay with wholesale copper prices; and, finally, a mandatory switch-off of the legacy copper network–to foster the transition to the higher quality fiber networks. Trading-off the different static and dynamic goals, the paper provides guidelines and suggestions for policy makers’ decisions

Evidence that cells from experimental tumours can activate coagulation factor X.

The procoagulant activity of cells from some experimental tumours isolated in culture or in single-cell suspensions from ascitic fluid was investigated. Cells from Lewis lung carcinoma (primary and metastasis), Ehrlich carcinoma ascites and JW sarcoma ascites were able to shorten markedly the recalcification time of normal, Factor VIII- and Factor VII-deficient but not of Factor X-deficient human plasma. The same cells generated thrombin when mixed with a source of prothrombin and Factor X, absorbed bovine serum (as a source of Factor V), phospholipid and calcium chloride. Thrombin formation was not influenced by the presence of Factor VII. Cells from Sarcoma 180 ascites were completely inactive in both test systems. It is concluded that cells from some experimental tumours have the capacity to activate Coagulation Factor X directly. These findings suggest the existence of an alternative "cellular" pathway in the initiation of blood clotting distinct from both the intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms

The convergence of the disciplines for stage in high schools

The scientific discoveries gained over the last 70 years now allow us to build a unitary history of the universe that gathers the contributions of many disciplines. These new vision assigns to the Earth Sciences a new and important role to promote the convergence of many disciplines in order to build a unified history of the universe and of man in it. An example of this new role can be found in the Alternanza Scuola-Lavoro ASL (combined experience of study and work). For the Liceo the ASL, is a challenge. It risks becoming another activity that is added to citizenship education, assessment by skills, university orientation. The teachers see this set of activities as an already inadequate subtraction of time. Interesting opportunities are created by engaging students and the whole class council in activities of contextualization of knowledge. Students, with a precise responsibility in a working group, experience some of the typical dynamics of a work situation. From the observation, guided by indicators, and from the evaluation of the products, the teachers can obtain useful indications for inserting the students in the business realities. The Big History Project in Earth\u2019s Science context can be the solution. The students, in groups, study the history of the Universe according, they will have the task of creating a product of their choice. \u201cAvogadro Institute\u201d of Biella has produced videos with Sony Vegas Pro. One has engaged in a History of the Universe in 8 minutes, the other has presented the geological history of Biella. This job could be preparatory to a subsequent ASL in a geopark. In the \u201cA. Banfi\u201d Liceo in Vimercate (MI) it was decided to let the whole class work in the realization of a single product as 30-minute documentary that obtained almost 1500 views on Youtube. An educational trip to the Geological Observatory of Coldigioco has introduced students to the complexity of the geological history of Italy and the international interest it raises. A subsequent inspection in Val d\u2019Ossola, led by the Department of Earth Sciences of the University of Milan, provided the necessary information to relate the remote history of the valley with the recent one. The online attendance of a coding course allowed students to design and implement an application for mobile phones with App Inventor. From the set of evaluative elements such as group work observation tables, the daily report of the progress of the activities on a dedicated platform and the evaluation of the realized products, a profile of the student\u2019s skills can emerge, useful for a subsequent ASL insertion in a company real and also for orientation at the end of high school studies

Access regulation and the transition from copper to fiber networks in telecoms

In this paper we study the impact of different forms of access obligations on firms' incentives to migrate from the legacy copper network to ultra-fast broadband infrastructures. We analyze three different kinds of regulatory interventions: geographical regulation of access to copper networks-where access prices are differentiated depending on whether or not an alternative fiber network has been deployed; access obligations on fiber networks and its interplay with wholesale copper prices; and, finally, a mandatory switch-off of the legacy copper network-to foster the transition to the higher quality fiber networks. Trading-off the different static and dynamic goals, the paper provides guidelines and suggestions for policy makers' decision

Network Utilities Performance and Institutional Quality: Evidence from the Italian Electricity Sector

It is generally accepted that institutions are important for economic development. However, whether the performance of regulated utilities within a country is affected by the quality of institutions is yet to be investigated thoroughly. We analyse how the quality of regional institutions impact performance of Italian electricity distribution utilities. We use a stochastic frontier analysis approach to estimate cost functions and examine the performance of 108 electricity distribution utilities from 2011 to 2015. This unique dataset was constructed with the help of the Italian Regulator for Energy, Networks, and Environment. In addition, we use a recent dataset on regional institutional quality in Italy. We present evidence that utilities in regions with better government effectiveness, responsiveness towards citizens, control of corruption, and rule of law, also tend to be more cost efficient. The results suggest that national regulators should take regional institutional diversity into account in incentive regulation and efficiency benchmarking of utilities