Deployment Of Broadband Services Research Articles

Exploring geographic disparities in broadband access and use in rural southern Illinois: Who's being left behind?

Abstract Recent literature about broadband telecommunications reveals two major areas that are not only globally gaining prominence, but are also demanding urgent attention from a research perspective. One of the key areas is related to the need to spatially evaluate the availability and deployment of broadband services, especially among urban versus rural communities. Another area of interest falls under the need for enabling broadband policies and strategies that address existing geographic disparities. These motivating factors shaped this research and provided a basis for defining three specific objectives, namely: (1) to identify locations with or without broadband access, (2) to identify underserved rural and inner-city markets, and (3) to determine whether university and community college towns can be used in the adoption and dispersion of broadband technologies in southern Illinois. Supply-side and demand-side data were collected and inputted into a Geographic Information System (GIS). Supply-side data included cable modem, digital subscriber lines (DSL), wireless, and fiber optic lines, while demand data included reported broadband requests from individuals without access (n = 439), students (n = 45,866), and higher education workforce (n = 5419). Using the GIS and statistical techniques, insightful maps of broadband infrastructure were created to illustrate areas of supply and demand so that governments and businesses can address existing gaps in consumer needs. Specifically, different levels of broadband access and use were mapped; different under-served rural and inner-city markets were identified so as to emphasize the dramatic economic impact on the business opportunities available to small business entrepreneurs. Also, different geographies of use and accessibility of broadband connectivity in the study region were synthesized to support decision-making. The resulting maps provided supply and demand marketing intelligence based on the geographic analyses of residential and enterprise sectors. These data can be used as a model to develop specific policy recommendations for a knowledge-based economy, specifically for the southern Illinois region or other rural communities in the United States.

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.

A consideration of ADSL service under NTT's network

NTT is aggressively promoting the deployment of fiber to the home in Japan in order to deploy broadband services. The demand for high-speed Internet access has been increasing rapidly. Until migration from metallic cables to optical fiber is complete, NTT needs to develop technology that can provide high-speed access over the existing metallic cable. We believe that high-speed subscriber transmission systems operating on the existing phone lines, in addition to fiber optic lines, will accelerate the deployment of broadband services. This article discusses the technical issues of deploying ADSL in Japan.