The Broadband Adoption Index: Improving Measurements and Comparisons of Broadband Deployment and Adoption
T. Randolph Beard, George S. Ford, Lawrence J. Spiwak, & Michael Stern
Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal & Economic Public Policy Studies
Federal Communications Law Journal 343, 2010

The authors propose that many policy makers around the globe view the Internet and Internet adoption as critical to economic and social viability and success.  They believe that the Internet can be seen as a “general-purpose” technology but that it can also play an important role in: 1) The reduction of transaction costs; 2) A forum for increased political discourse; 3) Provide for educational opportunities; and, 4) Promote social change.

Because of this Internet adoption as public policy has become very important amongst policy makers around the globe.  Therefore, the authors argue that ways in which to benchmark the efficient deployment of the Internet and measure its successful adoption is vital.  Because the OECD rankings only account for wired connections, the authors feel that, “policy makers seeking to understand and measure the effectiveness of their Internet deployment and adoption programs clearly need a tool that does not simply “count” connections of a particular type, but which takes into account all technologies in a way that measures the value that each broadband technology offers their societies.”

In this paper we find a review of the following:

• The Broadband Adoption Index
• Numerical Simulation of the Broadband Adoption Index
• Implementation Guidelines, Suggestions, and Applications
• Measurement, Multiple Modalities, and Public Policy
• Policy Recommendations

The authors conclude that countries examining broadband adoption and implementation should “at a minimum” look into the BAI (Broadband Adoption Index), but additionally should examine their own strategies effectiveness and results along with an examination of demographics and all types of broadband implementation.

You can find the full paper here.