 | This report takes as its starting point a number of salient facts about the converged broadband world. Driven by the availability of novel and innovative services, demand for bandwidth is growing substantially. Services rather than the underlying technology drive the customers' choice of broadband connection. The economies of scope brought about by convergence are reflected in bundling of services. A range of different access technologies co-exists with mobile broadband services gaining in importance not just in countries where fixed infrastructure is poor, but also in developed economies with almost universal fixed line coverage. The paper then discusses the implications of these developments for market definition. It gives a brief summary of the key principles used by regulatory and competition authorities for establishing the boundaries of the relevant market and then looks at the extent to which different broadband technologies can be said to compete with each other in light of these principles. |
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