Examining the influence of government policy on broadband internet access: The case of China

Governments worldwide are driving initiatives to deploy broadband infrastructure and services. China has topped the world broadband market with the total broadband user base exceeding 320 million (CNNIC, 2009). However, a closer analysis indicates that broadband in China is less advanced in terms of penetration rate, access speed and price. Why China is lagging? Despite the fact that broadband performance and adoption are determined by both non-policy factors and policy factors, the OECD experience shows that smart national broadband policies are the key to broadband success. This chapter reviews and analyzes relevant regulations and government policies pertaining to broadband development in China using a multiple perspective model. The primary goal of this chapter is to examine how various policy factors interplay to affect broadband deployment and performance in the case of China. This research shows that the Chinese approach to broadband development has not produced desirable results. Several factors affect the growth of broadband. The most significant is lack of a detailed national broadband plan with clearly stated goals, performance targets and action plans for implementation. China's regulatory arrangement and approaches to regulating broadband industry have failed to establish a well functioning and competitive market and to drive high levels of broadband performance, investment and innovation.