María Fernanda Viecens

One goal, different strategies: an analysis of national broadband plans in Latin America

Purpose – The ambitious government initiatives currently underway to accelerate broadband development indicate a major shift from the consensus that prevailed during the 1990 s in the telecommunications sector. To what extent does this change represent a return to the period before market liberalization and the privatization of government‐run telecom services? What are the main objectives of national broadband plans and which policy tools are best suited to achieve them? This paper aims to analyze these questions through a comparative analysis of the goals, policy instruments and network‐deployment models of the most relevant national broadband plans adopted in Latin America.Design/methodology/approach – The paper takes the form of a comparative analysis of the goals, policy instruments and network‐deployment models of the most relevant national broadband plans adopted in Latin America.Findings – Common patterns and key differences between the initiatives adopted in five countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chil...

Exclusive contents and next generation networks

Abstract This paper analyzes the interaction between the market of contents and the development of the next generation network (NGN) industry. We assume structural separation between the network and service operators and the comparative advantage of the service operators depends on the access to premium contents. On one side, we analyze how the structure of the market of contents (the scope of exclusivity contracts) may affect deployment and competition in a NGN setting. On the other side, we endogenize the structure of the market of contents given the presence of NGNs, where a content provider can sell contents directly to consumers, by-passing telecom operators (disintermediation, over-the-top content). In this context, we show that exclusivity only occurs when the content is not highly valued by consumers. Finally, the implication of our analysis for the evolution of the telecommunications industry is discussed.