COSTA: A model to analyze next generation broadband access platform competition

The roll-out of next generation access networks is a complex process which depends not only on technical or commercial factors, but also on market conditions and regulatory decisions. The path adopted by the different agents towards the new networks will not be homogeneous, neither about technologies and platforms, nor the commercial model or roll-out strategies. These elements will depend on expectations on investment recovery, competitive dynamics of different markets and specific issues confronted by the different agents. With the aim of addressing these issues from a techno-economic perspective, the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, with the collaboration of Telefónica, has developed a set of models called COSTA, which calculate the costs of rolling out next generation access networks for different platforms under different regulatory and geographic scenarios. The objective of this article is to present the COSTA model and the analysis of some aspects about the potential of competition among alternative access platforms for the roll-out of next generation access networks.