Innovation and the Evolution of Market Structure for Internet Access in the United States

70 Pages Posted: 12 Jul 2012

See all articles by Shane M. Greenstein

Shane M. Greenstein

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); Harvard University - Technology & Operations Management Unit

Date Written: August 15, 2006

Abstract

How and why did the U.S. commercial Internet access market structure evolve during its first decade? Commercial Internet access market structure arose from a propitious combination of inherited market structures from communications and computing, where a variety of firms already flourished and entrepreneurial norms prevailed. This setting nurtured innovative behavior across such key features as pricing, operational practices, and geographic coverage. Inherited regulatory decisions in communications markets had a nurturing effect on innovative activity. On-going regulatory decisions also shaped the market’s evolution, sometimes nurturing innovation and sometimes not. This narrative and analysis informs conjectures about several unique features of U.S. market structure and innovative behavior. It also informs policy debates today about the role of regulation in nurturing or discouraging innovation behavior.

Suggested Citation

Greenstein, Shane M. and Greenstein, Shane M., Innovation and the Evolution of Market Structure for Internet Access in the United States (August 15, 2006). TPRC 2006, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2104408

Shane M. Greenstein (Contact Author)

Harvard University - Technology & Operations Management Unit ( email )

Boston, MA 02163
United States

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
85
Abstract Views
2,005
Rank
531,415
PlumX Metrics