Essays on the economics of broadband networks

Abstract

The Internet has become an integral part of everyday life. Now, more than ever, it is important to understand these markets to best guide and inform public policy. This dissertation uses proprietary, high-frequency, subscriber-level data from various North American Internet Service Providers to study the demand side of residential broadband markets. In Chapter 1, I study how subscribers are currently using the Internet with a particular focus on the current role and importance of online video. In Chapter 2, I explore the implications of usage-based pricing and its ability to improve efficiency in broadband markets. In Chapter 3, I estimate subscriber demand of residential broadband where variation in network congestion and prices are included.