Does national broadband plan narrow regional digital divide? Evidence from China

Although an increasing number of countries are striving to implement broadband plans, there is a dearth of research that examines whether having a national broad plan could narrow a nation’s regional digital divide. In this study, we used data sets collected from recent national statistics to quantify the effects of China’s national broadband strategy on the regional digital divide. The results of our analysis showed that while China’s approach narrowed the regional divide in terms of the coverage of broadband infrastructure, it had a comparatively limited impact on closing both the penetration divide and the quality divide. To narrow these divisions further, it is recommended that China adjust the priorities and scope of its national broadband strategy from a supply-side, investment-driven industrial policy to a demand-side, user-centric policy.