Classroom Companion: Business

17.6 
 Conclusions
Digital markets can be categorized in several ways.
5
E-commerce markets include all kinds of trading using the Internet for product 
search, purchasing, and payment. The good may be tangible or digital. In the 
C
ISP
ASP
CP
ASP
buys or receives for free
copyright content from Prosumer
Prosumer
buys or receives for free
content or application services from
ASP
Prosumer
buys Internet
services from ISP
IP
Prosumer
. Fig. 17.9 Prosumers in digital markets. (Authors’ own figure)
 
Chapter 17 · Digital Markets

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latter case, the good is also delivered on the Internet. One basic requirement for 
a trade to be categorized as e-commerce is that the trade is associated by finan-
cial transactions. Examples are Amazon and Spotify.
5
Network access markets are the commercial activities associated with network 
access and transfer of bits between users. The stakeholders include owners of 
infrastructures such as Internet routers, optical fiber networks, wireless access 
networks, and satellite networks. The concept also includes Internet service pro-
viders (ISP) offering the infrastructure services such as Internet access and 5G 
mobile services to the customers.
5
Information service markets consist of the myriad of services offered by con-
tent providers and application service providers.
Moreover, the information service markets may also be categorized as:
5
Over-the-top services where the provider of the service is bypassing traditional 
services offered on the network such as voice, television, and messaging by hid-
ing them in unspecified Internet packets.
5
Search goods where the attributes of the service are known before consumption.
5
Experience goods where the attributes of the service are only known after 
consumption.
5
Prosumer markets where the users are both producers and consumers of value.