An analysis of the determinants of broadband access ?
This paper extends the analysis of the relative impacts of socioeconomic factors on households decision to subscribe to dialup Internet access [Chaudhuri, A., Flamm, K., & Horrigan, J. (2005). An analysis of the determinants of Internet access, presented at the Telecommunications Policy Research Conference, Washington, DC, October 13] to the decision to subscribe to broadband. A simple cumulative utility (ordered logit) model is rejected in favor of a partial proportional odds model, and the authors found that the decision to purchase any access at all, and the decision to upgrade to broadband, may be affected differently by various socioeconomic factors. The own-price elasticity of broadband demand is statistically significant and has a substantial coefficient value. The cross-price sensitivity of broadband demand with respect to dialup price is also statistically significant, and supports the notion of the two services being substitutes.
broadband access dialup internet pricing price elasticity digital divide willingness to pay