Broadband Futures Forum: Affordability of Broadband Services

On 25 August 2021, TelSoc hosted the ninth Broadband Futures Forum, held online, to discuss the affordability of broadband services in Australia. A panel of four speakers, drawn from broadband providers and social policy advocates, outlined their experiences with affordability and digital inclusion. Discussion following the speeches ranged over the topics of a broad social policy response, the definition of affordability in relation to financial hardship, the provision of public Wi-Fi, and the availability of suitable devices.

Broadband Market Sizing in Brazil

The objective of this study is to predict the potential broadband market in Brazil. This is done by combining information from two national databases: the 2010 census and the 2015 PNAD (National Household Survey). The 2015 PNAD is used to estimate the probability of the household accessing internet by broadband technology, using a logit regression. The broadband market is predicted using the estimated model with the same covariates found in the 2010 census. The prediction indicated a potential market of 45 million households, an additional of 6 million households in relation to the current situation. The new size of the broadband market is estimated if there is a 10% increase in the average penetration of broadband services in the main metropolitan areas. In this scenario, the new market covers 50.7 million households.

Cost-Efficient Hybrid WDM-MDM-Ro-FSO System for Broadband Services in Hospitals

The expansion of high-speed communication needs due to explosive growth of subscribers each year has led the researchers to design the next generation communication systems which can cope with the current growing demand. Millimeter waves, operated within the range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz, can become potential carrier for delivering large amount of data. However, in hospital scenarios, these radio waves are subjected to strict regulations due to direct impact on patients’ health as well as high interference with other medical devices which again imposes critical challenge on patients. Thus, it is a challenge for the researchers to provide communication/broadband services for transmission of such sensitive biomedical sensor data in hospitals locations. Radio over Free space (Ro-FSO) systems may become the attractive solution to deliver millimeter waves over free space link with high speed. Further, to expand the capacity of Ro-FSO systems, mode division multiplexing (MDM) plays a vital role in addition to wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) scheme. In this work, we have demonstrated the MDM-WDM scheme to deliver four channels with each one having the capacity of 10 Gbps up-converted to 40 GHz over FSO link which is suitable for providing broadband and communication services within the hospital premises. Moreover, the proposed WDM-MDM-Ro-FSO link is evaluated under different fog conditions.

An exploration of user-generated wireless broadband infrastructures in digital cities

This paper examines the broadband connectivity options available in digital cities. It offers an overview of services provided by commercial operators, the public sector and by citizens themselves, arguing that shortcomings in existing fixed broadband and commercial mobile broadband services provide an opportunity for citizens to share their own wireless broadband connections. It explores Wi-Fi hotspot provider FON's approach to extending mobile broadband infrastructure by enabling shared connections within communities. The paper outlines some reasons why this specific user-generated approach to infrastructure provision has been unable to deliver highly robust broadband infrastructure, and discusses ways in which users and the public sector can be involved in developing new mobile infrastructures that will meet citizens' needs.

The impact of facilities and service-based competition on Internet services provision in the Canadian Broadband Market

A variety of studies have focused on the effect of competition in broadband markets on increasing broadband penetration rates. Few studies however have focused on the extent to which competition also results in innovation in the marketplace, as demonstrated by increased broadband speeds, and other improvements that provide value to broadband users. This paper considers the effectiveness of market competition as a means of encouraging broadband providers to offer innovative services that meet citizens’ increasing needs for affordable high quality and high speed broadband connectivity. The study focuses on the provision of broadband services in Canada, a country where consumers were early adopters of broadband and where the policy environment has encouraged competition in the broadband market from its inception. Drawing on data from the OECD and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), the paper demonstrates that Canada’s regulatory regime does not appear to be sufficient to enable a competitive marketplace that results in the provision of innovative broadband services.

An exploration of user-generated wireless broadband infrastructures in digital cities

This paper examines the broadband connectivity options available in digital cities. It offers an overview of services provided by commercial operators, the public sector and by citizens themselves, arguing that shortcomings in existing fixed broadband and commercial mobile broadband services provide an opportunity for citizens to share their own wireless broadband connections. It explores Wi-Fi hotspot provider FON's approach to extending mobile broadband infrastructure by enabling shared connections within communities. The paper outlines some reasons why this specific user-generated approach to infrastructure provision has been unable to deliver highly robust broadband infrastructure, and discusses ways in which users and the public sector can be involved in developing new mobile infrastructures that will meet citizens' needs.