The Determinants of Broadband Access and Usage in Turkey: Do Regions Matter?

The aim of the paper is to examine the determinants of broadband internet access in Turkey, and in particular, whether the probability of adopting broadband access varies by region. This study also attempts to find out whether there are regional disparities in engaging in various online activities. The 2012 ICT Household Survey that was conducted and administered by TURKSTAT is used. Probit model of probability of adopting broadband access is estimated and results are consistent with the earlier studies: Education, gender, age and household size matter. Besides this, the probability of adoption in West and Central Turkey is higher than the Eastern Turkey. In the second stage of the paper, conditioned on the availability of access, probability of using various online activities is estimated. The results confirm the existence of the regional disparities: Being in the West increases the probability of using online activities that require relatively advanced skills such as searching information and ebanking, while the probability of using time-required entertaining activities is higher for the individuals in the East.