Getting investment incentives right

A European visitor to Asia can only marvel at the speed of broadband. In Singapore fibre access is available to every home. In South Korea dense mobile networks allow users to watch high definition video. By contrast, in the UK, as in many other countries, there is concern that investment has been insufficient to fully meet the quality of service and extent of coverage demanded by end-users. Policymakers are considering what incentives for telecoms operators might address the problem. Looking at the level of past investment can provide valuable information on what spurs capital spending, what might be holding it back and the link between policy and the level of investment.