How do market factors influence the development of next-generation broadband?

In recent years, the delivery of telecommunications services has shifted towards the use of the Internet Protocol (IP). Increasingly, new access mechanisms promise the capability and potential to deliver progressively higher speed and bandwidth-intensive applications. Moreover, this next generation of telecommunications infrastructure has been embraced by network operators in order to enhance their competitiveness. Though it is widely accepted that next-generation broadband will realize numerous commercial and socio-economic benefits, the investment uncertainties are many. For example, the financial requirements for network deployment are substantial and current-generation broadband services are still deemed adequate for many economies. The desire to understand these investment differences that exist across telecommunications markets motivates this research. The overarching research question is „how do market factors influence the development of next-generation broadband?‟. With a focus on Europe, the research explores the investment decisions made by market players in The Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Through semi-structured interviews, the study investigates the definitions of Next-Generation Networks (NGN) and Next-Generation Access (NGA), the benefits associated with these network paradigms, and the drivers for investment and technological choice. Drawing on academic literature, the research builds on studies that describe the macro-economic impact of markets on investment in NGN and NGA by providing an in-depth analysis underpinned by an empirical base. For the telecommunications industry, the study provides insight and guidelines for policymakers and network investors. The research confirms the existence of a pronounced relationship between market factors and investment decisions. Path dependency, for example, plays an important role in defining NGA for market players while regulation, competition and geographic conditions are primary informants to the investment decision. A market-investment conceptual map highlighting the interplay between these issues is proposed, revealing the existence of reinforcing relationships in NGN and NGA development. More importantly, the detailed investigation into specific market conditions shows that it is the combination and interaction of the existing market factors that ultimately shape the investment decision.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo