The interplay of regulation and other drivers of NGN deployment: A real-world perspective

• In addition to regulation, other factors impact investment decisions.
• Because issues pertaining to demand have been neglected in the deployment of NGNs, they have been underutilised.
• The regulation of NGN hinders investments in fibre and stimulates SBC.
• Different regulatory policies are needed in urban and suburban areas.

This paper contributes to the current, lively debate on which factors induce or hinder the deployment of next generation networks (NGNs), where regulatory design plays the key role. As a country with one of the highest levels of fibre deployment, intense infrastructural competition in urban areas and regulated access to both copper and fibre networks, Slovenia is an interesting case to explore using the recent theoretical and empirical findings. First, the impacts of regulation and other factors on investment decisions are explored. Second, the impact of NGN investments on investors' performance is analysed and explained, and we focus on both the investors' business strategies and the demand for NGN services. Third, the regulatory policy in both regimes, namely, before and after the mandated access to fibre was implemented, is discussed and changes are proposed.