Title: Choice, price and service characteristics in the Irish broadband market

Authors: Seán Lyons; Michael Savage

Addresses: Economic and Social Research Institute, Institute, Whitaker Square, Sir John Rogerson's Quay, Dublin 2, Ireland; Department of Economics, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland ' Economic and Social Research Institute, Institute, Whitaker Square, Sir John Rogerson's Quay, Dublin 2, Ireland

Abstract: Using detailed plan-level data, this paper examines the choice, price and quality of broadband services available to consumers in Ireland over time. We find modest geographical (county level) variation in broadband services. Hedonic regression analysis is used to value various components of the broadband service. Download and upload speed attract positive valuations, whereas contention ratio is valued negatively as expected. The results suggest that the marginal valuation of download speed decreases as the speed level increases, with little value currently placed upon speeds above about 60 Mb/s.

Keywords: broadband services; market analysis; hedonic regression analysis; Ireland; broadband choice; broadband price; broadband quality; download speed; upload speed; contention ratio.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMNE.2013.054480

International Journal of Management and Network Economics, 2013 Vol.3 No.1, pp.1 - 21

Published online: 02 Jul 2014 *