Broadband business by utilities infrastructure exploitation: A multistage competition model

A promising broadband business opportunity is the exploitation of the physical resources owned by municipalities and utility-based firms. In this study, the new broadband business opportunities owned by these authorities are analyzed through the development of a decision analysis model. The proposed model analyzes the broadband business into stages, integrates real options and game theory and provides business equilibrium in terms of the time of entry in the market, quantity offer and price definition. Finally, a real world case study is discussed showing how the model can be applied.

► The paper analyzes broadband business for municipalities and utility companies. ► It models competition for such business, which can be divided in stages. ► It adopts multistage and multitype competition in a two-player business game. ► A real business case is analyzed by using the proposed framework. ► The analysis proves that delay of investment may be more attractive under business uncertainty.