Next Generation Regulation and the Product Life Cycle

Politicians have set ambitious targets for the availability and use of Next Generation Acces, but will the regulations encourage the market to deliver or hinder development?

In this article published in InterMedia (July 2010, Vol. 38, No. 3), Richard Cadman of SPC Network argues that regulation needs to be co-ordinated with the Product Life Cycle to encourage efficient investment

"The politicians have set their ambitious target. The European Commission wants to see all households in Europe having access to 30Mbps broadband by 2020 and 50% of Internet users subscribing to 100Mbps by the same time . Now all that’s needed is for the private sector to invest in, and build, the high speed, Next Generation Access (NGA) networks required to meet the goal. Job done? Not really. Nobody seems to know how to ensure industry has the right incentives to invest while the retail market remains competitive."

In this article Richard Cadman argues that co-ordinating regulation with the Product Life Cycle will encourage firms to invest.