DELab UW study for the Office of Electronic Communications
Scientists from DELab UW – Dr. Maciej Sobolewski and Michał Paliński – in cooperation with Audytel SA, carried out a project for the Office of Electronic Communications, the Polish telecommunications market regulator, entitled “Concept of research on the substitutability of fixed and mobile internet”.
The phenomenon of replacing the Internet in stationary technologies with access in mobile technologies is a growing trend observed for only a few years in developed countries (previously it concerned voice services). Stationary-mobile substitution has far-reaching consequences for the functioning of the telecommunications market. It changes the balance of power between operators and shifts the boundaries of relevant markets subject to antitrust regulation. The project aimed to develop a methodology for studying the scale of the phenomenon in Poland, taking into account the regional dimension and the diverse reach of individual technologies. Researchers from DELab UW recommended the optimal methodology for studying this phenomenon, created on the basis of the latest research - the discrete choice method, taking into account data from the Broadband Infrastructure Information System, tariff data and a dedicated survey. The concept assumes calculating the appropriate price elasticity coefficients, which will enable the performance of a series of hypothetical monopolist tests. These tests will allow for the verification of the boundaries of relevant markets and the possible inclusion of stationary and mobile broadband access technologies in one market.