Juan Jung

In this paper we study the role of Video on Demand services (VOD) as drivers of broadband adoption. We developed a worldwide database of VOD services launch by country since 2012 (including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, Disney+, Paramount+, and HBO Max) and explored their contribution as contributors to broadband adoption during the period. Our results confirm that VOD services have been a key contributor to the increase of broadband connectivity, also helping to narrow down the digital divide especially in developing nations.

The study proposes an economic growth econometric model that accounts for the role of fixed broadband in mitigating the economic losses resulting from COVID-19. Results show that had the national fixed broadband penetration been the same as that of the most-connected state (Delaware, 91.4%) rather than the actual level of 70.5%1 , the national GDP contraction in 2020 would have been 1% rather than the actual 2.2%. The analysis also indicates that those states with higher adoption of fixed broadband infrastructure were able to mitigate a larger portion of their 2020 economic losses due to pa

The purpose of this study was to analyze the role of remote working enabled by a robust broadband infrastructure. The objective was to find out the effects of remote working on quality of life and in reducing emissions before and during the pandemic. We found broadband-enabled remote working to significantly increase the quality time of workers, defined as the time spent with family members. When higher remote working frequency occurs (three working days and more), the net reduction in emissions seems to prevail.

This paper analyses the incidence of broadband on regional productivity in Brazil, intending to find out if the economic impact is uniform across all territories of the country. The possibility of performing a regional approach to test the effect of broadband on productivity in an emerging country represents a novelty for the literature. Results suggest that the impact of broadband on productivity is positive although not uniform across regions. On the one hand, it seems to depend on connection quality and network effects.