The Internet – Still Wide Open and Competitive?

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For years now, the Internet seemed to be open, free, and competitive. But now, in the wake of the Internet’s bursting bubble the reality of that competitiveness deserves a second look: is the Internet still as open and competitive as it used to be, or is it becoming concentrated, and dominated by a few firms with market power? A second and related question needs also be asked: has the Internet today become less competitive than other parts of the information sector?

To answer these questions, Professor Noam will present the findings of a paper which measures market concentration (the HHI index) in the various parts of the Internet sector, traces it over time, and compares it with trends in other information industries. The results show that the Internet today is more concentrated than the rest of the information sector.