Thank you for your comment. Let me answer point-by-point:
1) "Is it possible that the reduced investment in towers would have happened whether or not interoperability was implemented? " This is a difference-in-difference study. Therefore, our findings imply that there is a differentially higher decline in towers and signal in areas with interoperability. As a result, we are not ruling out that this reduction is not happening in areas where interoperability is not introduced.
2) "I also struggle to understand why operators would have a higher incentive to grow their network into rural areas if there was no interoperability." This is beyond the scope of our paper, but typically this is due to network effects. Low and middle-income countries have a lot of people migrating from rural to urban areas and they want to send remittances to their family, friends and peers in rural areas. Offering these services is one of the core reasons behind the popularity of mobile money.
Thank you for your comment. Let me answer point-by-point:
1) "Is it possible that the reduced investment in towers would have happened whether or not interoperability was implemented? " This is a difference-in-difference study. Therefore, our findings imply that there is a differentially higher decline in towers and signal in areas with interoperability. As a result, we are not ruling out that this reduction is not happening in areas where interoperability is not introduced.
2) "I also struggle to understand why operators would have a higher incentive to grow their network into rural areas if there was no interoperability." This is beyond the scope of our paper, but typically this is due to network effects. Low and middle-income countries have a lot of people migrating from rural to urban areas and they want to send remittances to their family, friends and peers in rural areas. Offering these services is one of the core reasons behind the popularity of mobile money.