Deficit of Broadband Demand in Austria

In an international comparison, the demand for high-speed broadband connections in Austria is relatively low. After a brief literature review of the determinants of this take-up rate, indicators of broadband demand in the EU-28 countries are compared with selected country-specific characteristics. Few significant correlation coefficients can be found for the demand for fast, fixed broadband connections. The second part of the study identifies determinants of the demand for A1 Telekom broadband access using econometric methods and small-scale raster data and quantifies their influence. The econometric analysis yields an inverse U relationship between the available speed and the A1 take-up rate. As a descriptive comparison of the highest possible and average download speeds shows, this relative broadband gap widened noticeably between 2015 and 2017. Finally, the study derives economic policy recommendations as to how high-bandwidth market penetration could be accelerated by appropriate demand impulses.