Does National Broadband Policy Make a Difference?

How important are national broadband policies in explaining broadband adoption rates?

Apparently not so important, according to economists at the Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal & Economic Public Policy Studies.

In fact, "91 percent of the differences in fixed broadband adoption rates in the 30 OECD member countries can be explained by reference solely to differences in income, education, population age, and other demographic factors that bear little relationship to broadband or telecommunications policy," the Phoenix Center says in a new study.

That isn't to say government regulations and policies are unimportant. It's just to say that such policies explain about nine percent of adoption rate results.