The Strategic National Infrastructure Assessment of Digital Communications

Edward Oughton ()
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Edward Oughton: Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge

Working Papers from Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge

Abstract: This paper provides a compendium of the key issues currently facing digital communications and reviews their relevance for the UK's National Infrastructure Assessment of digital infrastructure. The methodology focuses on taking a horizon scanning approach to obtaining current information from a range of authoritative decision-makers across industry, government and academia. After structuring the issues identified, these areas were examined in detail by a multi-disciplinary research team covering engineering, economics and computer science. The key finding shows that future demand uncertainty is the major issue affecting the digital communications sector and holding back increased investment. Moreover, this uncertainty is being driven primarily by the relatively rigid willingness to pay of end-users, the shift from fixed to wireless forms of access, and the ongoing convergence in digital applications and services. The key contribution of this paper is not just to illustrate the issues and trends within the digital communications sector, but also to identify the need for more research to understand how the sensitivity of future demand affects infrastructure performance and cost under different demographic, economic and technical scenarios.

Date: 2018-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-pay
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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