Score contribution per author:
α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count
The replacement of copper telecommunications networks by fibre-based next-generation networks (NGN) capable of providing high-speed broadband services requires substantial investment and a regulatory regime designed to encourage it. The paper identifies which technologies are capable of supporting NGN and considers what changes to the regulatory regime are required to elicit them in competitive, non-competitive, and non-commercial geographical areas. In non-competitive areas there is likely to be trade-off between the timing of investment and nature of concessions offered to constructors. Governments are also considering investment in NGN, either separately from or as part of a recovery package, and the paper discusses the justification for such investments. Copyright 2009, Oxford University Press.