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The rapid development of cloud computing, mobile broadband, and

the Internet of Things (IoT) is propelling the world into the digital age,

but a lack of network coverage in many of the world’s remote and

underdeveloped regions continues to hold back a significant number of

people from enjoying the privileges of connected living.

Ubiquitous connectionThe UN has declared Internet access a basic human right.

A World Unconnected

Bump MitchellAge 51, Farm Manager, New Zealand

"I don't use the Internet mainly because I just don't have time. I spend most of my time outside. When I need to communicate documents, I do so by fax. If I had the Internet hooked up, and had a device to use it on, I would. But while my life works fine without it, I see no point.

I would mainly use it to find goods and services. In a small town where many things aren't available, I would shop over the Internet and use it to research things that could be useful to me.

I think as a whole the Internet has made people very unsocial. People don't speak to each other; they rely on Facebook and email nowadays. I find it rude when, in a room full of people in a social setting, people are all on their various devices instead of talking to each other."

The loon that roared

ohn Smith and his family have run a sheep ranch for generations near Lake Tekapo on New Zealand’s South

Island. Although he never imagined connecting to the Internet via balloons floating in the stratosphere, he has found that this “floating network,” which relies on what Google calls a “special Internet antenna,” provides much better connection than dial-up Internet access in terms of both quality and speed.

"Two years ago, I gave up dial-up and tried to use satellite networks, but the monthly fee was hundreds of dollars, just too much to afford. I even planned to cut my network connection completely. Finally, the balloon networks deployed by Google have proved to be a blessing." John can now get online without hindrance and use the weather forecasts he finds there to choose an optimal time to shear his sheep.

Google calls this floating network and its ambitious plans for it Project Loon, which was launched in June of 2013. Ideally, this network would involve a very large number of inexpensive balloons that can easily circumvent the mountains, deserts, and bodies of water that typically keep the world’s

unconnected areas that way. A Loon pilot was carried out in New Zealand, with John one of the first to benefit.

However, a network of such balloons is unproven for long-term use or on a large scale, and even if it was, it could only make a small dent in the digital divide, as geography only represents a small portion of what separates the connected and unconnected.

A recent International Telecommunication Union (ITU) report indicates that 2.7 billion people worldwide had access to the Internet in 2013, leaving 4.4 billion unconnected. Their reasons for not being online vary, but for most it is a lack of or high barrier to access, caused by poor infrastructure, complex terrain, and exorbitant costs, among other reasons. In 2011, the UN declared Internet access a basic human right. Bringing the Internet and its associated social and economic benefits to the areas that are now underserved will require the concerted efforts of governments, carriers, and the entire ICT industry.

National broadband is on the way

According to the ITU, over 134 countries and regions released national

By Lucy Li & Linda Xu

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broadband strategies by mid 2013 to facilitate consistent broadband network development. In May 2010, the EU announced the Digital Agenda for Europe, a flagship initiative under the Europe 2020 strategy that seeks to engender a smart, sustainable and inclusive economy. These three mutually reinforcing priorities should help the EU and its member states deliver high levels of employment, productivity, and social cohesion.

In the Asia-Pacific region, broadband development is in full swing. Japan and South Korea have respectively outlined the e-Japan project and the Future IT Development Strategy of South Korea, and Singapore plans to have a nationwide ultra-high speed fiber network deployed by the end of 2013. Under China’s latest Broadband China strategy, unveiled in 2013, the next few years will see optical fiber to the home or to the building completed in all major cities by 2015. With this in place, urban Internet speeds will be as fast as 20Mbps and, in some highly developed cities, as fast as 100Mbps, with rural Internet speeds in China hitting roughly 4Mbps by that time.

However, despite these tremendous efforts from various parties, the digital divide persists between developed and developing countries, and between the city and country. According to ITU figures for 2013, 77% of the developed world is online, as is 31% of the developing. But

unfortunately, this percentage dips to as low as 6% in the least developed countries.

Broadband within reach

The lack of connection in rural and remote areas stems primarily from economy and geography, so cost-effective solutions are key.

Ultra-fast fixed broadband Underdeveloped regions, almost by definition, have pronounced infrastructure deficiencies, particularly with respect to power supply. In sub-Saharan Africa, electricity is available to about 30% of the population on average, with this number dropping to 14% in the rural areas.

This has been a major hindrance to telco infrastructure deployment, thus far, but solutions have emerged in the last few years that utilize renewable energies such as solar, wind and water power, and they are starting to see significant action. For instance, a solar hybrid power solution is now available that is suitable for off-grid and poorly served areas where the peak value sunshine time only needs to exceed three hours. However, there is a long way to go before implementation of such solutions is common.

Another issue is the fact that even if optical and copper resources are available in sparsely populated areas, access fees are often relatively expensive, and can even be very expensive, even in

the case of rural Internet users who may have modest bandwidth requirements. In such situations, fiber to the node (FTTN) and fiber to the curb (FTTC) solutions that utilize xDSL are a more practical choice for home connection. VDSL2 will suit relatively demanding rural residents, while ADSL2 can handle the rest. With Vectoring and G.fast technologies ramping up, legacy twisted pairs can reach 100Mbps within 300 meters and 1Gbps within 100 meters, ensuring the broadband viability of legacy investments for the forseeable future.

Swisscom is pioneering nationwide broadband that utilizes both copper and fiber. The operator had previously grappled with low ROI due to high network construction and maintenance costs. Before 2008, 15% of Switzerland had no access to broadband services, prompting Swisscom to adopt an FTTC + VDSL2 access model, particularly for the remote regions, as a key element in its drive for universal broadband access.

For trunk optical lines, GPON is well suited thanks to its robust bandwidth, ease of acceleration, and broad coverage. With a 1:32 splitter, GPON can cover a rural area of 20 square kilometers, making for a dramatic reduction in network deployment investment coupled with a significant increase in deployment speed.

Poorly designed equipment rooms and exorbitant maintenance costs are also

problems that warrant attention; they can be solved through solutions that integrate the cabinet, device, and site, which significantly reduces their O&M difficulties and makes broadband deployment all the more viable. Outdoor cabinets can be highly adaptable, and they are also quite easy to deploy and maintain remotely, making for a very practical rural solution.

Ubiquitous wireless broadband Satellite communication has the reliability and range to be the go-to medium for remote connection, but it is too expensive to be utilized in every instance. Long-term Evolution (LTE) technology, often referred to as 4G, has the potential to be that long-sought-after medium, thanks to its broad coverage and modest O&M costs.

EE, the U.K.’s largest mobile network operator, announced in March 2013 an LTE deployment in Cumbria, one of England’s most remote regions. The operator also made LTE available across much of the Northern Fells (a mountain range in the same area), delivering speeds of up to 12Mbps over 100 square miles of an area that claims the U.K.’s highest concentration of home workers.

Since 2011, Vodafone has been deploying LTE networks in the 800MHz frequency band to cover over 90% of rural Germany by 2016, while in June 2013, China Mobile brought LTE to Mount Everest, enabling

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its enchanting landscapes to be recorded and transmitted at HD quality throughout the world.

Of course, LTE won’t achieve its hoped-for scale without spectrum, and lots of it, but solutions are now in play. An advanced GL 1800MHz refarming solution enables smooth transition from GSM to LTE, with the most significant benefit being, when compared with other solutions, spectrum efficiency and long-term OPEX reduction.

From infrastructure to terminal, the industry chain, for networks that utilize this band is maturing in many European and Asia-Pacific countries, including the U.K., Norway, Japan and Singapore.

The industry is also striving for new spectrum resources. The U.K. will probably jump

on the 700MHz mobile broadband bandwagon around 2018, when regulator Ofcom intends to auction off the band, which is still used for digital terrestrial television at present. In June 2013, the 450MHz spectrum allocation for LTE was defined by the 3GPP; this very-low-frequency band boasts tremendous range, making it ideal for rural deployment.

However, such deployments will probably be modest at first, and may come under strain very quickly. State-of-the-art technologies such as small cells, LTE-A, and no-edge networking can ensure LTE service consistency and an optimal user experience, facilitating both network development and the service rollout process.

Dreams coming true

However, even if these lofty expectations are realized, they won’t do much good if there is nothing available that will attract rural residents who may need some convincing as to the benefits of broadband.

Diverse and user-friendly services and applications need to be introduced in rural and remote markets, with affordable terminals and new business models, such as partnering with mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), to stimulate market demand.

Huawei envisions broadband access serving every square inch of this planet, making for a pipe "as broad as the Pacific Ocean," in the words of Huawei’s founder. This would be a truly connected world with endless possibilities – a society where life and work are greatly enriched, and made easier through communication.

LTE is capable of connecting remote regions.

In June 2013, the 450MHz spectrum allocation for LTE was defined by the 3GPP; this very-low-frequency band boasts tremendous range, making it ideal for rural deployment.