Fixed Wireless Technologies Research Articles

Moving mountains with mobiles: Spatiotemporal perspectives on mHealth in Nepal

Community healthcare workers (CHW) are an important component of rural healthcare service delivery to remote rural communities in developing countries. The field of mHealth proposes that mobile technologies will have a beneficial impact on rural healthcare development. Current analyses advance the proposition that the utilization of mobile technologies leads to the shifting of space and time (Ling & Campbell, 2009). The current research examined the potential for a sustainable mHealth system for CHW in Achham, Nepal. The community aspect of mobile usage was overlaid with a spatio-temporal lens to examine the information and communication needs and practices of stakeholders within the healthcare infrastructure. Fieldwork was conducted in conjunction with Nyaya Health, at the Bayalpata Hospital, in Accham, Nepal. Qualitative research methods, focus group discussions, and in-depth interviews included 57 respondents. The findings revealed that limited relevance and information-sharing, limited access due to individual ownership and low income, and ineffective training programs were key barriers to the delivery of rural healthcare services. The spatio-temporal perspective, particularly community communicative practices, revealed technological mHealth design solutions to alleviate the problems identified. The potential shifts in power relationships by using mobile technologies and hybrid fixed wireless technologies provide opportunities for further theoretical investigation.

Waiting for Broadband: Local Competition and the Spatial Distribution of Advanced Telecommunication Services in the United States

ABSTRACT With the passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Congress directed the Federal Communications Commission and all fifty U.S. states to encourage the deployment of advanced telecommunication capability in a reasonable and timely manner. Today, with the rollout of advanced data services such as digital subscriber lines (xDSL), cable modems, and fixed wireless technologies, broadband has become an important component of telecommunication service and competition. Unfortunately, the deployment of last‐mile infrastructure enabling high‐speed access has proceeded more slowly than anticipated and competition in many areas is relatively sparse. More importantly, there are significant differences in the availability of broadband services between urban and rural areas. This paper explores aspects of broadband access as a function of market demand and provider competition. Data collected from the Federal Communications Commission is analyzed using a geographic information system and spatial statistical techniques. Results suggest significant spatial variation in broadband Internet access as a function of provider competition in the United States.

Broadband fixed wireless access as a key component of the future integrated communications environment

It is an exciting time for broadband fixed wireless with key developments in frequency bands from 1 to 60 GHz and a range of new technologies being developed. While working on these new technologies, it is easy to forget that fixed wireless access will form part of an integrated communications environment of the future where users will have one communications device working in the home, at the office, and outdoors. This article predicts the communications environment of the next 20 years and looks at the role of fixed access within that environment. This involves assessing how fixed access systems will interface and integrate with in-home wireless networks, how their architecture will enable multiservice operators to utilize the same core network across a range of different access technologies, and how they will act as a channel to carry mobile traffic originating within the building. Based on the requirements this vision and architecture implies, this article critically assesses the different fixed wireless technologies available to date and compares their capabilities to provide future-proof broadband fixed wireless platforms.