Access regulation and the transition from copper to fiber networks in telecoms
- Publication date
- Publisher
Abstract
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