Broadband Network Infrastructure Research Articles

Ecological innovation effect of broadband network infrastructure: Evidence from China

AbstractThis study investigates the impact of Broadband Network Infrastructure (BNI) on urban ecological innovation (EI). The implementation of China's “Broadband China” Demonstration City (BCDC) construction policy provides a quasi‐natural experiment for examining the causal effect of BNI on urban EI. Using the difference‐in‐differences method, we find that BNI significantly increases the number of green patent applications in local cities, and that the effect is increasing over time. Examination of the underlying mechanism reveals that BNI promotes urban EI through stimulating entrepreneurship, improving human capital level, and attracting investment agglomeration. This paper contributes to the understanding of why significant innovation frequently occurs in places with relatively perfect infrastructure, such as networks.

Higher Education in the First Year of COVID-19: Thoughts and Perspectives for the Future

In the last year a new virus (SARS‑CoV‑2) and the disease caused by it (COVID-19) has quickly spread around the world, leading the World Health Organization to declare a public health emergency and, then, a global pandemic status. The strategies adopted by many countries to reduce the impact of the pandemic were mainly based on social distancing rules and on stay-at-home measures or lockdowns. These strategies had severe disruptive consequences on many sectors, including all levels of education. While the “traditional” (face-to-face) Higher Education (HE) system was unprepared for the lockdown (e.g., no plans for a massive shift to online teaching were available/ready), it reacted in an extremely quick and effective way, replacing face-to-face teaching with online teaching. While COVID-19 has been extremely challenging for education, the experience has undoubtedly provided positive inputs for the digitalization of the HE system. The question is however, if whether after the COVID-19 emergency everything will go back to the previous situation or instead if the pandemic has irreversibly changed HE. While we are still in the middle of the crisis, it is in our view beneficial to start to reflect on the challenges and open issues that emerged during this period and the lessons learned for the “new normal” (as it is often referred to). In this conceptual paper we seek to start this discussion by focusing on the following relevant aspects that should be considered to succeed in the digital transformation: broadband network infrastructure and hardware devices; e-learning software; organization of teaching activities; pedagogical issues; diversity and inclusivity; and a number of other issues. We conclude that the COVID-19 pandemic will irreversibly change HE and probably for the better.

A Study of the Impact of Internet-Based Instruction Integrated Innovation Education on University Student Entrepreneurial Team Collaboration and Strategic Innovation

With the advent of knowledge economy, the competition of comprehensive national power gradually has shifted to talent competition. The cultivation of innovative talents and the incubation of student entrepreneurial teams are the primary educational goals of universities, which is an important part of the national innovation system. University student entrepreneurial teams present the attribute of high technology and unique knowledge advantage. The persistent innovation of student entrepreneurial teams is attributed to knowledge playing a critical role. In particular, in the knowledge-based economic era, student entrepreneurial teams with speed, connection, and intangible value creation have transformed the partly labor-intensive model into a knowledge-intensive competition model. Taking university student entrepreneurial teams as the research object, a total of 500 copies of questionnaire were distributed and 386 valid copies were retrieved, with a retrieval rate of 77%. Through the questionnaire survey, students’ awareness, emotion, and will of innovation in innovation education are understood, and their cognition and intention of team cooperation and strategic innovation are investigated. The research results are concluded as follows: (1) Innovation education presents significantly positive correlations with collaboration. (2) Collaboration shows remarkably positive correlations with strategic innovation. (3) Innovation education reveals notably positive correlations with strategic innovation. According to the research result, suggestions are proposed, expecting that China’s university student entrepreneurial teams could acquire the advantage of technological innovation by applying the opportunities of broadband and wireless network infrastructure and developing innovative applications and entrepreneurial models.

Status of the ITER remote experimentation centre

The ITER Remote Experimentation Centre (REC) project (one of the three sub-projects of the International Fusion Energy Research Centre (IFERC)) is progressing under the agreement between the Government of Japan and the European Atomic Energy Community for the joint implementation of the Broader Approach (BA) activities in the field of fusion energy research. The objectives of the REC activity are to identify the functions and solve the technical issues for the construction of the REC for ITER at Rokkasho, and to develop the remote experiment system and verify the functions required for remote experimentation by using the Satellite Tokamak (JT-60SA) facilities to facilitate the future exploitation of ITER and JT-60SA. The functions of REC will be tested, and the total system will be demonstrated using JT-60SA and existing facilities in the EU, such as JET and WEST.The hardware of the REC has been prepared in Rokkasho Japan, which has the remote experiment room with a large video wall to show the plasma and operation status, IT equipment and a storage system by the reuse of the Helios supercomputer tape library. A broadband network infrastructure of 10Gbps has been installed connected to SINET5. Using this network system, fast data transfer from ITER to REC was examined in 2016, and the transfer of the data volumes expected for the initial ITER experiments has been demonstrated. A secure remote experimentation system has been developed, using JT-60SA, that has functions for preparing and setting of shot parameters, viewing the status of control data, streaming of the plasma status, data-exchange function of shot events, and monitoring of the facility operation. Remote data analysis techniques, data visualisation software, a documentation management and experiment planning system and numerical simulation codes for the preparation and performance estimation of discharges have also been developed.

Strategic choice and broadband divergence in the transition to next generation networks: Evidence from Canada and the U.S.

This article investigates how infrastructure competition among broadband network infrastructure operators in Canada and the U.S. has influenced their incentives to increase fixed broadband connection speeds and invest in next generation fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) technologies. The evolution of measured broadband speeds since the late 2000s documents growing differences in the incentives of dominant broadband operators to respond to demand for higher speed connectivity by increasing connectivity speeds they deliver to their customers. Dominant network operators in Canada have shown relatively stronger incentives than their counterparts in the U.S. to invest in and increase the capacity of legacy platforms. In the U.S. FTTP deployment incentives have been somewhat stronger, but network operators have been more reluctant to upgrade legacy technologies to deliver higher speeds. Diversity of strategic choices by large operators helps explain increasing regional and local broadband infrastructure gaps within the two countries. A high dividend payout financial strategy and increasing vertical integration appear to enhance the potential for overinvestment and inefficient duplication in legacy platforms by competing infrastructure providers.

Determinants of ICT innovations: A cross-country empirical study

This study investigated key drivers of technological innovation in the ICT industry, attempting to evaluate whether the broadband network infrastructure, diversity of R&D funding, R&D performance, number of researchers, education, openness to international trade, and socio-economic factors have influenced ICT innovations in 40 countries from 1999 through 2013. Through fixed effect regression models of ICT innovation, the study found that high levels of broadband infrastructure and the R&D factors from triple helix collaboration were associated with high levels of ICT innovation. The findings also suggested that innovation infrastructure and the socio-economic factors of nations could be significant determinants of ICT innovation.

G7 Broadband Dynamics

This study evaluates the quality, dynamism, and value of G7 broadband network infrastructures in order to determine how successful they have been. It judges policy success by applying a multi-factor formula including deployment, utilization, performance and financial criteria to a wealth of data (more than 90 graphs and tables) on all aspects of G7 broadband dynamics. It finds three policy models active in the G7 today: 1) The “Pioneer Model”, used by the U. S. and Canada, that features R &D subsidies, deregulated urban markets, and limited subsidies for rural markets.2) The “Contingent Model”, used in Japan, Germany, and U. K, that provides open access and price controls over legacy infrastructure while permitting carriers to make profit from advanced infrastructure.3) The “Utility Model”, used in France and Italy, in which an all-powerful national regulator targets far-off goals with promises of massive subsidies that often fail to materialize.It finds that the Pioneer Model is most effective, the Contingent Model is second, and the Utility Model is worst.

The Impact of Australia’s Government Policy on Broadband Internet Access

The Australian government has recognised the importance of broadband for their social and economic development. This paper provides an in-depth analysis of the impact of policy issues on broadband Internet access in Australia. This research has clearly indicated that the state of broadband Internet access is closely related to the Government’s policy and regulatory framework. The Government based its actions on market forces as a principal driver for broadband Internet connectivity. The research has indicated that the previous regulatory competition regime, by and large, has failed to address concerns of market dominance and market power in the Telecommunications sector as is evidenced by a relatively lower speed and value of broadband services in Australia. To rectify the situation, the Australian government has recently adopted a unique National Broadband Network (NBN) plan, which is linked to the national digital economy strategy. Australia is the first country in the world where a national broadband network infrastructure company, NBN Co, is regarded as a regulated national infrastructure provider rather than as a telecommunication company. The NBN Co builds and operates an open access, wholesale only and non-discrimination high-speed broadband network, the National Broadband Network (NBN). The Australian Government's goal for the NBN is to reform the telecommunications sector and ensure every home and business across the country has access to the NBN by 2020. This paper examines the policies underlying the NBN and discusses current practices and potential benefits of the NBN.

Green Informatics: ICT for Green and Sustainability

Green Informatics constitute a new term in the science of information that describes the utilization of informatics in the interest of the natural environment and the natural resources regarding sustainability and sustainable development. Nowadays, ICT has introduced the convergence of e-services with broadband network infrastructure, wireless technologies and mobile devices. The revolution of ICTs introduction in daily average life has also resulted in the increase of GHG, since the ’’carbon footprint’’ is continually increasing. The dimensions of Green Informatics contribution are: the reduction of energy consumption, the rise of environmental awareness, the effective communication for environmental issues and the environmental monitoring and surveillance systems, as a means to protect and restore natural ecosystems potential. EU has reinforced the environmental sector with focus on high level of protection and improvement of the quality of environment through the enacting of strategies, initiatives and measures. Future EU strategy aims to a low carbon European society by 2050 and to green/sustainable development, ICTs can play a key role in the environmental protection and sustainability, however, green behavior is still critical.

Performance Assessment for Digital Convergence Development in Taiwan

In this research, the top six determinants of evaluation, as shown in Table 2, were selected as objectives of developing the digital convergence policy of Taiwan, they are: (1)C11 Promoting telecommunication mobile value-added services; (2) C12expediting the digitization of cable and terrestrial TV; (3) C21promoting investment and development of the convergence industry; (4) C13adjusting the scope of regulating telecommunications and broadcasting ; (5) C31completing the digital convergence legislative framework and passing relevant legislation; and (6) C22 reducing the digital divide and popularizing services.”For this research, opinions and comments from experts and scholars were compiled with the objective of establishing the most effective research structure and means of evaluation. Subsequently, results show that the top criteria expedite Taiwan’s digital convergence is the development of high-speed broadband network infrastructure. Besides, Taiwan presently does not perform well in Harmonic Convergence Regulatory Environment. It also means that there is not a sound regulatory environment, particularly in “balance digital divide and universal service”. Thus, Taiwan should first improve “Harmonic Convergence Regulatory Environment”.

Australia’s Digital Economy @ 100Mbps and beyond: the potential social and economic benefits from a Next Generation National Broadband Network Infrastructure

Australia’s Digital Economy @ 100Mbps and beyond: the potential social and economic benefits from a Next Generation National Broadband Network Infrastructure

Delivering services over next generation broadband networks

Investment in 'next generation' (very high speed) broadband infrastructure is expected to enable access to services that will provide citizens with social and economic benefits. Developing services for access using broadband infrastructure can be quite complicated however. This paper explores how services can be delivered over broadband network infrastructure, outlining four broad categories of access devices, three service delivery platforms and two types of networks. Using Australian data, the paper explores user behaviours and expectations around service delivery, illustrating the need for diversity and choice of service offerings. It also notes the importance of mobile services, and makes the case that wireless broadband connectivity should be part of a national broadband infrastructure. Copyright 2010 Catherine Middleton. No part of this article may be reproduced by any means without the written consent of the publisher.

Delivering services over next generation broadband networks: exploring devices, applications and networks

Investment in 'next generation' (very high speed) broadband infrastructure is expected to enable access to services that will provide citizens with social and economic benefits. Developing services for access using broadband infrastructure can be quite complicated however. This paper explores how services can be delivered over broadband network infrastructure, outlining four broad categories of access devices, three service delivery platforms and two types of networks. Using Australian data, the paper explores user behaviours and expectations around service delivery, illustrating the need for diversity and choice of service offerings. It also notes the importance of mobile services, and makes the case that wireless broadband connectivity should be part of a national broadband infrastructure. Copyright 2010 Catherine Middleton. No part of this article may be reproduced by any means without the written consent of the publisher.

An adaptive fast expansion, loading statistics with dynamic swapping algorithm to support real time services over CATV networks

As the community antenna television (CATV) networks becomes ubiquitous, instead of constructing an entirely new broadband network infrastructure, it has emerged as one of the rapid and economic technologies to interconnecting heterogeneous network to provide broadband access to subscribers. How to support ubiquitous real-time multimedia applications, especially in a heavy traffic environment, becomes a critical issue in modern CATV networks. In this paper, we propose a time guaranteed and efficient upstream minislots allocation algorithm for supporting quality-of-service (QoS) traffic over data over cable service interface specification (DOCSIS) CATV networks to fulfill the needs of realtime interactive services, such as video telephony, video on demand (VOD), distance learning, and so on. The proposed adaptive fast expansion algorithm and the loading statistics with dynamic swapping algorithm have been shown to perform better than that of the multimedia cable network system (MCNS) DOCSIS.

InfoRAD 2005: Your Best Resource for Informatics Education

The Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) is on a mission to prepare you for the future of radiology. You might ask yourself, particularly if you read last year’s version of this editorial, “What have I done to become more knowledgeable and more comfortable with the digital revolution sweeping radiology?” Whatever positive steps you have taken, the RSNA and its Electronic Communications Committee, Refresher Course Committee, and Scientific Program Committee are more committed than ever to providing you with the tools you need at the upcoming annual meeting. As an amateur digital philosopher and observer, I always enjoy thinking about experiences that I have had since the last RSNA meeting that give some cohesion to the collection of course offerings and educational exhibits in the infoRAD arena. It is very fitting that the theme of the 2005 meeting is “Connecting for Lifelong Learning.” Do not be mistaken: Connecting means the Internet, the World Wide Web, and their support of digital delivery of educational materials. It is also fitting that the Annual Oration in Diagnostic Radiology is being given by my dear friend, Bill Brody, an electrical engineer and cardiovascular radiologist, who was asked to become president of Johns Hopkins University 10 years ago in part because of a report he wrote that advised the university how to remake itself in the digital world of the 21st century. In one of our conversations, Bill mentioned to me an upcoming book: The World is Flat, by Tom Friedman of the New York Times, which is a high-impact description of the effect of digital technology on all human endeavors, including medicine and radiology (1). The book should be required reading for my teenagers, my associates, and maybe you. The year 2005 will be remembered as a watershed in medical informatics. This year, a major national initiative for the electronic medical record (which definitely includes imaging) was launched from the White House. This effort promises to have an enormous impact on the way radiology is practiced. No matter what kind of practice setting you work in, a practical understanding of digital technologies will become increasingly essential. Recently, a fellow resident from my training program years ago stopped by for a visit. He practices in a big town in a rural area. He “had a few questions.” At lunch, we delved into obstacles of integrating radiology information systems and picture archiving and communications systems (PACS), speech technology integration, weaning referring physicians from hard-copy images, Web distribution of imaging studies and reports, community broadband network infrastructure, context management, HIPAA security, and community patient identification. And that was all before dessert. Today, at work, we hosted a radiologist and department support staff from the major metropolitan area of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, in a site visit for PACS selection “tire kicking.” I once wondered how our commercial friends were going to drop and support 1.5-T superconducting magnetic resonance imaging devices into rural hospitals. Not anymore, and especially not multidetector computed tomography. But all of these devices need PACS—that is, facility-wide PACS—to fully realize their potential. Your practice lies somewhere within the preceding spectrum of extremes—from the two rural settings to a sophisticated, urban digital environment. We believe that we have something for everyone along this spectrum in the informatics offerings at RSNA 2005. For starters, the Society for Computer Applications in Radiology (SCAR) and RSNA have formed a collaboration for your educational benefit. The first year of this collaboration attempts to provide an informatics “boot camp” for radiologists. The first session has already occurred as a precursor to the SCAR annual meeting in June 2005. At the 2005 RSNA RadioGraphics 2005; 25:1405–1406 ● Published online 10.1148 /rg.255055146

Emerging Broadband Market and the Relevant Policy Agenda in Japan

Japan is now ranked as one of the most advanced countries in the deployment of broadband services. Several factors supporting this deployment can be found in policy measures for the promotion of a broadband network infrastructure (e.g. grants by the government as incentives for investment) and promotion of competition in the broadband market (e.g. drastic deregulation to change the competitive regime). In addition, the deployment of the broadband platform and its corresponding newly emerging business models are forcing the regulatory authority to reconsider new competition policy rules; how to cope with vertically integrated business models is one of the key issues to be tackled. In addition, based on the deployment of broadband infrastructure, the stimulation of demand for broadband services becomes the next step to be explored.

Impact of an integrated architecture for bandwidth management in a broadband network infrastructure

The unprecedented growth in demand for bandwidth within public networks — mostly stemming from the rapid growth in data services — and the increasingly competitive environment are forcing service providers to reexamine their network architecture and evolution strategies. In particular, deploying a network infrastructure that can cost-effectively support diverse services and yet be flexible enough to accommodate changing technologies and service requirements is essential to remaining competitive in the future. To meet these challenges, Lucent Technologies' Optical Networking Group (ONG) has developed a new transport networking paradigm known as selective layered bandwidth management (SLBM) to provide a logical structure for planning and evolving these networks. Moreover, the ONG has proposed a new network element architecture based on SLBM, generically known as a nodal bandwidth manager (NBM). Its highly integrated, multi-technology platform manages the bandwidth within network nodes. In this paper, we focus on an economic analysis of the impact of this new integrated NBM architecture, which is being realized within Lucent through the WaveStar™ BandWidth Manager (BWM) platform. First, we developed and analyzed a large carrier-class network model. Next, we carried out quantitative comparisons, both in terms of equipment cost and floor space, between the integrated NBM approach and “stand-alone” benchmark models. In addition, we have drawn qualitative comparisons with respect to both reliability performance and operations costs.

Broadband network infrastructure of the future: roles of network design tools in technology deployment strategies

The rapid pace of technology introduction in the network infrastructure and services offered on this infrastructure are creating new challenges for telecommunication product and network planners. In particular, a multitude of choices, the unpredictability of future technologies and traffic, the need to operate heterogeneous networks, and the speed of change create a need for a set of tools which allow quantitative evaluation of alternatives quickly in early phases of decision making while allowing the same tools to migrate to more elaborate deployment help during the later stages. We have begun an effort to create such a set of tools under the umbrella of integrated network design tools (INDT). In this article, we describe key challenges and approaches used in INDT to meet these challenges. We also discuss the algorithmic and software architecture of INDT, and illustrate its use via examples from transport infrastructure evolution. Finally, we describe the migration path of INDT to move from early decision help to later deployment support tools. Specific topics discussed include: plesiosynchronous digital hierarchy, SONET/SDH systems, ATM, network topologies, traffic types and routing.

SingAREN: the Singapore Advanced Research and Education Network

Singapore is the first country in the world to have a nationwide broadband network infrastructure deployed. What started as an experimental ATM testbed network in 1995 has now become a nationwide broadband infrastructure called Singapore ONE, launched in 1997 to provide residential broadband access via ADSL or CATV cable modem technologies, and business access via ATM. As of June 1998, Singapore ONE supported more than 10,000 users with over 120 commercial applications. More than 100,000 users are projected by the end of 1999, increasing to 400,000 by the year 2001. In order to support the technological needs of broadband communications under Singapore ONE, and to address the national R&D agenda in this area, an advanced research network called the Singapore Advanced Research and Education Network (SingAREN) was established in late 1997. This article gives an overview of the broadband infrastructure initiatives in Singapore, focusing on the SingAREN project. The goals of SingAREN, its network configuration, the research programs and activities to date, and plans for the future are described.

Information Inequality and Broadband Network Access: an Analysis of Australian Household Data

There has been considerable debate in Australia concerning the social and economic effects of telecommunications carrier investment in broadband network infrastructure. Whether particular groups within networked communities are unable or unwilling to subscribe to broadband services is an important policy issue. This paper sets out to identify metropolitan households that are less likely to subscribe to services and examines whether there exists a systematic link between subscription interest and measures of social disadvantage. Analysis of stated-preference subscription intentions data, obtained from an Australia-wide survey of 715 households, shows that there is potential for the new communication technology to create information inequality.