Telecommunications and Internet Policy

The OECD (www.oecd.org/sti/telecom) reviews telecommunications and Internet policy, promotes exchange of experience among OECD members and reviews developments in information infrastructure (regulatory reform, convergence of telecommunication, Internet, cable television and broadcasting networks).

What's new

OECD Workshop on Fibre Investment and Policy Challenges (Stavanger, Norway)

from 10-Apr-2008 to 11-Apr-2008

The aim of this workshop was to examine fibre investment across the OECD and look for best practices across a range of investment scenarios. Participants' presentations are now available.

Developments in fibre technologies and investment

04-Apr-2008

Users' bandwidth demands continue to increase over time and this is leading Internet service providers and telecommunication operators to find ways to meet these growing network capacity requirements. Operators have spent the previous 20 years extending fibre backbones out to local main distribution frames but now many are working on pushing fibre ever closer to end-users in order to improve capacity. This paper provides an overview of developments in optical fibre communication technology and investment.

Public rights of way for fibre deployment to the home

04-Apr-2008

Fibre network deployments in the last mile are viewed as a key technology for communications access in the high-speed broadband market providing capacity that is symmetric and can support multiple play services. One factor which can slow the pace of fibre investment in the local loop is the cost associated with legal and regulatory procedures in obtaining permits for access to streets, roads, and other public lands as well as barriers to access existing ducts. 

Changing television markets

09-Jan-2008

By changing the distribution model for video content, television delivered over Internet Protocol (IPTV) is increasing pressure for a review of broadcast regulatory frameworks so as not to stifle innovation and the diffusion of new services. This paper examines current market trends and regulation for IPTV and also provides information on developments in the provision of IPTV service in a number of OECD countries.

OECD launches new broadband portal

06-Nov-2007

This portal provides a wide range of broadband indicators on penetration rates, usage, geography, prices, speeds and services. For example, the 221 million broadband subscribers in the OECD area spend an average of USD 49 per month for broadband and receive an average advertised connection of 13.7 megabits per second. The portal can be found at www.oecd.org/sti/ict/broadband.

OECD countries take new approach to fostering innovation, says OECD report

25-Oct-2007

More and more OECD governments are giving firms tax breaks to drive innovation while cutting their direct spending on business research and development (R&D), and are also encouraging public research organisations to commercialise their inventions, according to a new OECD report.

Catching up in broadband: What will it take?

26-Sep-2007

Can governments elevate their broadband performance rankings? This paper aims to identify the factors that are significant in driving broadband penetration.

Telecoms advances throw up new challenges for operators, says OECD

12-Jul-2007

Telecommunications investment continues to rise and consumers are generally paying less for more and better services across the OECD area but technology developments are presenting new challenges to telecoms operators, according to a new OECD report.

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