Consumer Preferences for Mobile Broadband Quality in Japan : Implications for the Discussion on Network Neutrality

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Abstract

The rapid development of information and communication technology has facilitated significantly expanded use of the Internet and made it an indispensable infrastructure element for socioeconomic activities. With the boom in bit-intensive and live-streaming content over broadband Internet, the phenomenon of increasing and persisting Internet congestion and an abuse of market power by dominant Internet service providers (ISPs) is no longer a mere engineering possibility but a grave and imminent reality. As a means of dealing with these problems, “network neutrality” has become the focus of discussion among operators, academics, telecom regulators, and consumer groups in recent years. With the current rapid traffic increase not only in fixed broadband but also in mobile broadband, U.S. stakeholders have started discussing whether both mobile and fixed Internet access should comply with similar network neutrality standards. Considering the global trend in broadband usage, other countries will soon have to follow suit. Unfortunately, the discussions related to network neutrality thus far have mainly considered operators’ viewpoints and have failed to give proper attention to consumers’ perspectives; therefore, arriving at an optimal conclusion is difficult for them. In order to overcome this shortcoming, this study uses a Web-based questionnaire and empirically shows that users’ preferences for the communication quality of fixed broadband may differ significantly from their preferences for its mobile counterpart. Accordingly, this paper recommends that each broadband medium be treated differently, for optimal resource allocation.

Journal

  • 經濟學研究

    經濟學研究 80 (1), 127-142, 2013-06-28

    Society of Political Economy, Kyushu University

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