IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/telpol/v44y2020i9s0308596120301129.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Increasing low-income broadband adoption through private incentives

Author

Listed:
  • Rosston, Gregory L.
  • Wallsten, Scott J.

Abstract

We evaluate a program by a private Internet Service Provider (ISP) intended to encourage low-income households to subscribe to broadband internet service. As part of its approval of the Comcast-NBCU merger in 2011, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) mandated a “voluntary commitment” by Comcast to introduce a low-income broadband program that Comcast has branded “Internet Essentials (IE).” We use data from the U.S. Census Current Population Survey (CPS) and the National Broadband Map and a differences-in-differences approach to evaluate the program's effects on subscription rates for eligible households.

Suggested Citation

  • Rosston, Gregory L. & Wallsten, Scott J., 2020. "Increasing low-income broadband adoption through private incentives," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(9).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:telpol:v:44:y:2020:i:9:s0308596120301129
    DOI: 10.1016/j.telpol.2020.102020
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308596120301129
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.telpol.2020.102020?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ackerberg, Daniel A. & DeRemer, David R. & Riordan, Michael H. & Rosston, Gregory L. & Wimmer, Bradley S., 2014. "Estimating the impact of low-income universal service programs," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 84-98.
    2. Boik, Andre, 2017. "The economics of universal service: An analysis of entry subsidies for high speed broadband," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 13-20.
    3. Eriksson, Ross C & Kaserman, David L & Mayo, John W, 1998. "Targeted and Untargeted Subsidy Schemes: Evidence from Postdivestiture Efforts to Promote Universal Telephone Service," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 41(2), pages 477-502, October.
    4. Milton L. Mueller, 1997. "Universal Service," Books, American Enterprise Institute, number 53006, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Oughton, Edward J. & Amaglobeli, David & Moszoro, Marian, 2023. "What would it cost to connect the unconnected? Estimating global universal broadband infrastructure investment," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(10).
    2. Oughton, Edward J. & Comini, Niccolò & Foster, Vivien & Hall, Jim W., 2022. "Policy choices can help keep 4G and 5G universal broadband affordable," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    3. Liu, Chun & Wang, Lian, 2021. "Who is left behind? Exploring the characteristics of China's broadband non-adopting families," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(9).
    4. Schmit, Todd M. & Severson, Roberta M., 2021. "Exploring the feasibility of rural broadband cooperatives in the United States: The new New Deal?," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(4).
    5. Rabbani, Maysam, 2024. "Internet price, speed, and disparity: The case of rural healthcare providers in the United States," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(2).
    6. Chang, Jieun, 2021. "Broadband technology opportunities program public computer center grants and residential broadband adoption," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(8).
    7. Isley, Catherine & Low, Sarah A., 2022. "Broadband adoption and availability: Impacts on rural employment during COVID-19," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(7).
    8. Samara Mendez & Gabor Molnar & Scott J. Savage, 2021. "The Impacts of the Lifeline Subsidy on High-Speed Internet Access," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 64(4), pages 745-782.
    9. Biedny, Christina & Whitacre, Brian & Gallardo, Roberto, 2022. "Do ‘dig once’ and permitting policies improve fiber availability?," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(5).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Burton Mark & Macher Jeffrey & Mayo John W, 2007. "Understanding Participation in Social Programs: Why Don't Households Pick up the Lifeline?," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 7(1), pages 1-28, November.
    2. Jayakar, Krishna & Park, Eun-A, 2019. "Reforming the lifeline program: Regulatory federalism in action?," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(1), pages 67-75.
    3. Samara Mendez & Gabor Molnar & Scott J. Savage, 2021. "The Impacts of the Lifeline Subsidy on High-Speed Internet Access," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 64(4), pages 745-782.
    4. Rosston, Gregory L. & Wimmer, Bradley S., 2000. "The 'state' of universal service," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 261-283, September.
    5. Thomas S. Conkling, 2020. "Compliance and competition with heterogeneous service providers: the federal Lifeline program," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 57(1), pages 74-104, February.
    6. Steffen Hoernig, 2006. "Should uniform pricing constraints be imposed on entrants?," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 30(2), pages 199-216, August.
    7. Schejter, Amit M. & Tirosh, Noam, 2015. "“Seek the meek, seek the just”: Social media and social justice," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(9), pages 796-803.
    8. Ackerberg, Daniel A. & DeRemer, David R. & Riordan, Michael H. & Rosston, Gregory L. & Wimmer, Bradley S., 2014. "Estimating the impact of low-income universal service programs," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 84-98.
    9. Zolnierek, James & Clausen, Torsten, 2010. "Local telephone rate structure and telephone penetration: A universal service perspective," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 153-163, May.
    10. Chisari, Omar O. & Rodríguez-Pardina, Martín, 1998. "Algunos determinantes de la inversión en sectores de infraestructura en la Argentina," Series Históricas 7445, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
    11. Hauge, Janice A. & Jamison, Mark A. & Todd Jewell, R., 2008. "Discounting telephone service: An examination of participation in the Lifeline Assistance Program using panel data," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 135-149, June.
    12. Daniel Ackerberg & Michael Riordan & Gregory Rosston & Bradley Wimmer, 2008. "Low-Income Demand for Local Telephone Service: Effects of Lifeline and Linkup," Discussion Papers 07-032, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research.
    13. Downes, Tom & Greenstein, Shane, 2007. "Understanding why universal service obligations may be unnecessary: The private development of local Internet access markets," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(1), pages 2-26, July.
    14. Lee, Hyeongjik & Jeong, Seonkoo & Lee, Kwanghee, 2020. "Developing the Method for Estimating the Costs of Providing Broadband Universal Service: Korean Case," ITS Conference, Online Event 2020 224865, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
    15. Weisman, Dennis L., 2002. "Is there 'Hope' for price cap regulation?," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 14(3), pages 349-370, September.
    16. Daniel P. Gross, 2020. "Collusive Investments in Technological Compatibility: Lessons from U.S. Railroads in the Late 19th Century," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 66(12), pages 5683-5700, December.
    17. Thomas S. Conkling, 2018. "Crowd‐Out or Affordability? The Lifeline Expansion's Effect on Wireless Service Spending," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 37(2), pages 357-383, March.
    18. Austan Goolsbee & Jonathan Guryan, 2006. "The Impact of Internet Subsidies in Public Schools," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 88(2), pages 336-347, May.
    19. Mueller, Milton L. & Park, Yuri & Lee, Jongsu & Kim, Tai-Yoo, 2006. "Digital identity: How users value the attributes of online identifiers," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 405-422, November.
    20. Willia H Melody, 2011. "Liberalization in the Telecom Sector," Chapters, in: Matthias Finger & Rolf W. Künneke (ed.), International Handbook of Network Industries, chapter 7, Edward Elgar Publishing.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:telpol:v:44:y:2020:i:9:s0308596120301129. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/30471/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.