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Mobile broadband 'more cost effective' than fibre optic infrastructure
Monday 23rd May 2011, by Daniel King
Improving mobile broadband will be a far more cost effective way of meeting internet accessibility demands globally, according to a new report.
Wireless broadband will be more appropriate for meeting demand in rural areas, where fibre optic infrastructure deployment has proved difficult, the Vodafone 2011 Social Impact of Mobiles (SIM) report indicates.
Authors have even warned that there is a risk of over investment in fixed line fibre networks, which remains the primary focus of many governments and telecoms companies, including in the UK.
The cost of deployment in rural areas renders fixed broadband solutions unsustainable. Authors point to the Indian states of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Rajasthan, where fibre access deployment is only deemed feasible in three per cent of districts.
By comparison, 98 per cent of districts have been deemed compatible with the commercial rollout of wireless broadband coverage.
The SIM report indicates that the ubiquity and demand for additional mobile phone services is driving technological innovation in the sector. This is seen most prominently with the adaptations of social networking sites, which are becoming increasingly popular in emerging economies.
Developers are responding by creating mobile devices that enable users to access these services cheaply and authors anticipate this trend to continue.
World Wide Web Foundation chief executive officer Steve Bratt explained: "Affordability for low income users will require innovation that does not place most of the burden of access costs on the user.
"This report shows that social networking has huge potential to act as a platform for e-government applications accessible via mobile handset devices."
He called on regulators to facilitate the growth of the wireless broadband sector without inhibiting developers with "preconceived notions of the right model or pricing".
Report authors believe that the industry will really begin to pick up when more spectrum becomes available for 3G services, noting the value of the latest 3G auction for the Indian economy.
Categories: Wireless Broadband
