Written answers
Thursday, 16 January 2014
Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources
Broadband Services Expenditure
Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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187. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the total cost to his Department of the Programme of Research in Communications 2010-2012; the documents and reports produced under this programme of research; if these documents are publicly available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1910/14]
Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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My Department contributed €75,000 per annum for the years 2010-2013 inclusive to co-fund research work undertaken by the ESRI within the Programme of Research in Communications (PRC). The research, which was agreed annually in advance with my Department, was conducted independently by the ESRI and is accessible on its website . The following table 1 lists the research projects completed to date and column 2 updates on presentation of that research in other fora.
Table 1
| Research topic | Publication and dissemination additional to public access via ESRI at |
|---|---|
| Timing and determinants of local residential broadband adoption: evidence from Ireland. | Accepted for publication in the journal Empirical Economics. |
| The effects of broadband provision on Irish primary schools: the Broadband for Schools Programme. | Presented at the 2013 Irish Economic Association Conference and the International Telecommunications Society European Regional Conference, October 2013. Currently under consideration by the Economics of Education Review. |
| Choice, price and service characteristics in the Irish broadband market. | Appeared in the International Journal of Management and Network Economics. Presented at the Applied Microeconometrics and Public Policy Conference, NUIG, and the Irish Society of New Economists Conference in Cork. |
| Behavioural biases: a fourth market failure? | Working paper presented at a plenary session of the Workshop on Behavioural Economics: Science, Philosophy, and Policy Making, Trento, October 17-18, 2013. During 2013 the paper was also presented at the Irish Economics and Psychology Conference and featured at the conference for European Competition and Consumer Day during the Irish EU Presidency It is due to be presented at the Financial Conduct Authority in London. |
| Socioeconomic influences on Irish children’s use of the internet. | The paper was presented at the Growing Up in Ireland 5th Annual Research Conference on November 27, 2013: “Fun, Learning or Both – Does it Matter to Academic Achievement what Children do on the Internet?” It is now under review by the Oxford Review of Education. |
| How impact fees and local planning regulation can influence deployment of telecoms infrastructure. | Journal article appeared in Administration. |
| Telecommunications consumers: a behavioural economic analysis. | Paper appeared in the Journal of Consumer Affairs. |
| Broadband adoption and firm productivity. | Paper in revision following assessment by Telecommunications Policy. |
| ICT use and academic performance of 9‐year‐olds. | Appeared in the Oxford Review of Education. |
Table 2 (Research work notified by the ESRI on related topics which was not funded from the PPRC including updates on the presentation of that research in other fora in column 2).
| Research topic | Publication and dissemination additional to public access via ESRI at |
|---|---|
| Estimating the value of lost telecoms connectivity | Paper appeared in Electronic Commerce Research and Applications and was the subject of an ESRI Research Bulletin in 2013 |
| Behavioural Economics and "Vulnerable Consumers": A Summary of Evidence | Published by the UK Communications Consumer Panel. |
| Determinants of ICT adoption: evidence from firm level data | Published in Applied Economics. |
| Economic Regulation: Recentralisation of Power or Improved Quality of Regulation? | Published in the Economic and Social Review |
| Measuring the Effects of Mobile Number Portability on Service Prices | Published in the Journal of Telecommunications Management |
The external interest in the research is indicated in the preceding tables. The programme, which is co-funded by the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg), assists my Department and ComReg in developing and implementing policy and regulatory initiatives to accelerate the roll out of high speed broadband infrastructure, and the take up of high speed broadband services.
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