The Dynamics of Broadband Markets in Europe: Realizing the 2020 Digital Agenda

The European Commission's Digital Agenda for Europe sets the targets for broadband development by 2020, yet current broadband market outcomes vary widely amongst the EU Member States and the objectives seem challenging for many. In this book, a group of in-country experts follows a framework of qualitative and quantitative analysis to capture patterns, commonalities and differences between twelve different European countries, in terms of infrastructure endowments, institutional arrangements, time of joining the EU, behavior of market actors, personal interventions of regulators, the role of municipalities, and the role perception of governments. By exploring how the past explains present broadband market outcomes, these longitudinal country case studies look to how improvements can be made for the future. As the first in-depth study of broadband developments in Europe, this book will be invaluable to policy-makers, regulators, academic researchers, advisors, and consultants working in the fields of telecommunications, broadband development, technology and innovation.

Wolter Lemstra is Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Technology, Policy and Management at Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands, and Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Communication, Media and Information Technologies at Aalborg University, Denmark. He has 25 years of experience in the telecom sector and has occupied senior management positions in various telecoms technology firms. His current research is focussed on telecommunication sector governance, industry structure developments, firm strategic behaviour and innovation trajectories.

William H. Melody is Guest Professor at the Center for Communication, Media and Information Technology (CMI), Aalborg University Copenhagen, Denmark. He is Emeritus Professor, Economics of Infrastructures at the Department of Technology, Policy and Management, Delft University of Technology, and Emeritus Director, Learning Initiatives on Reforms for Network Economies (LIRNE.NET). He has participated in telecom and ICT research and policy development in all regions of the world.