Valuing the virtual: The impact of fiber to the home on property prices in France.

This paper examines the value that households place on very high-speed internet access, explicitly focusing on the impact of eligibility for Fiber to the Home (FTTH) technology on property prices. Using a Spatial Discontinuity Design based on the border of fiber eligibility zones which have significantly expanded under France's Très Haut-Débit plan, I find that FTTH eligibility is a significant determinant of property prices, with an average increase of 0.9 percent. I also consider heterogeneities in FTTH valuation, accounting for socioeconomic characteristics, local factors, and the performance of legacy copper networks. These findings highlight the growing importance of fast and reliable broadband access for households and have important implications for policymakers and Internet service providers. • Analysis of household valuation of very high-speed broadband in France. • A spatial RDD shows that FTTH eligibility boosts property prices by 0.9 percent. • FTTH's higher value in rural areas calls for policy shifts to address digital divide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]