Experimental Users and Demand for Next Generation Access Networks: A European Perspective

Torn between State Aid regulations and Public Utility visions the Commission of the European Union (CEU) has been rather inconsistent with respect to next generation access (NGA) networks over the past ten years. As the promise of new trans-sectoral services in areas such as e-health or e-government has extensively been used as a justification for public subsidies in these networks the reality of the adoption of these services has been rather disappointing. In the literature a number of technological demand market structure and public policy explanations have been advanced to characterise the dilemma of slow adoption of these services. In this context the concept of "experimental users" is used (and empirically tested) to characterise the different expectations of users with respect to these new services. Consequences with respect to regulatory policy and government strategy are discussed.