Affordable ubiquitous broadband connectivity is the great vision of the global ICT industry and many national governments. Extending broadband connectivity can bring significant economic and social benefits. Currently there remains a gap between global broadband demand and availability of coverage and capacity. This gap creates future growth potential for the industry as traditional telecom players and emerging Internet giants make new efforts to extend the reach of broadband communications.
Internet giants such as Google and Facebook have been working in two directions. Facebook’s Internet.org application and platform aim to provide free basic Internet access to unconnected people. In another direction, Google’s Project Loon, Microsoft’s Dynamic Spectrum Alliance as well as Facebook’s drone based solution hope to extend broadband reach with innovative technical solutions. These internet giants have achieved significant progress in recent years. Facebook’s Internet.org application has been available in some developing countries through collaboration with local telecom operators and Google’s Project Loon is close to large scale rollout.
Telecom players - particularly large infrastructure vendors - are also working to improve terrestrial wireless networks and provide ubiquitous broadband. Huawei’s WTTx solution is a wireless broadband solution based on LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) technology. A strong ecosystem, mature technologies and a clear evolution roadmap make the WTTx solution a powerful solution for the wireless broadband market.
Meanwhile, Ericsson is collaborating with Facebook and telecom operators to improve App Coverage e.g. for data at the edge of macrocells - in developing countries. This project between Facebook, Ericsson and several operators indicates that multidisciplinary collaboration between telecom vendors, operators, Internet companies, content owners and regulators can be very important in achieving the vision of affordable ubiquitous broadband connectivity. We expect industry players in different domains could expand collaboration to further improve broadband reach.
Table of Contents
1 Executive Summary
2 Benefits and Gap of Broadband Access
2.1 Economic and Socia Benefits
2.2 Benefits to Telecom Industry
2.3 Gaps between Demand and Supply
3 Internet Giants Pushing Innovative Models
3.1 Internet.org
3.2 TV ‘White Space’
3.3 Project Loon
4 Infrastructure Vendors Strengthening Network Foundation
4.1 Huawei WTTx to Release Market Potential
4.2 Ericsson to Improve User Experience of Data Applications
5 More Collaboration could Extend Broadband Connectivity and Evolve New 3D Architecture
5.1 New Collaborative Business Models are Essential to reduce Risk.
5.2 Contact the author of this report