Ability, location and household demand for Internet bandwidth

This paper examines consumer preferences for Internet bandwidth, focusing on technical ability and urban/rural location as sources of preference heterogeneity. An economic model is outlined that shows that ability decreases the effective price of bandwidth. As a result of this decrease, part of the total effect of an increase in ability will always be an increase in the demand for bandwidth. The implication is empirically investigated with an econometric approach that overcomes the limitations of the aggregated data that is currently available to describe consumer preferences. Results show that high-ability, urban consumers are willing to pay a substantive monthly premium for an improvement in bandwidth relative to rural consumers.