Better communication services and greater access to information have transformed the lives of both urban and rural people across the world. One such example is the many poor farmers who are now able to receive better prices for their crops because they have access to and are aware of market prices.
Mobile phones have also created a wealth of micro-enterprises, offering work to people with little education and few resources, such as selling airtime and repairing handsets. In Bangladesh, for example, with microcredit from the Grameen Bank, over 100,000 Bangladeshi women have set up mobile phone exchanges in villages where there are few, if any, landlines. Such village phone schemes subsequently spread from Bangladesh to Uganda, Rwanda and many other poor communities.
With the growing realisation that communication services can facilitate the socio-economic development of these regions, governments and operators across the globe are collectively undertaking efforts to enhance connectivity in rural and remote areas. These initiatives are being funded on a large scale by multilateral agencies like the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. Some of these initiatives include improving connectivity through wireless broadband networks, mobilising community-based socio-economic activities through village network portals, and building telecentres to improve access to services in remote rural areas.
The broadband sector is poised to be a key growth segment, as rural communities become aware of the need to connect with the world. Wireless broadband, in particular, offers innovative solutions to a multitude of challenges including geographical and financial constraints. These efforts are yielding results and progress, however slow, is being made.
tele.net takes a look at some of the rural connectivity initiatives being taken across the globe…
The UK government?s ambitious Broadband Delivery UK project aims to cover every community in the country with fibre-point broadband connectivity. Launched in December 2010, the project, with a budget of ?530 million, aims to support broadband services and stimulate further private sector investment in areas where it is perceived to be negligible. The government has already used some of this funding to invest in fibre projects in North Yorkshire, Cumbria, Herefordshire and the Scottish Highlands. In addition, the UK government is targeting rural schools and hospitals to provide them with 100 Mbps broadband service as part of its rural broadband project. Such speeds mean that schools and hospitals would be able to conduct videoconferences, use e-learning tools, and share and access extensive knowledge bases. The project, which also includes eight wireless towers, will cover schools in Marlborough this year and provide home owners internet speeds of 30 Mbps to 100 Mbps.
Meanwhile, French telecom regulator ARCEP has made the installation of long term evolution (LTE) base stations in rural areas a priority. Rural areas, which comprise 63 per cent of the country?s total area and account for 18 per cent of its population, have been a second priority for major telecom players so far. The ARCEP is assisting operators and taking initiatives to encourage network and spectrum sharing agreements to meet its own rural deployment schedules.
Broadband is being extended to rural Missouri, thanks to the Ralls County Electric Cooperative, with funding support from the United States Department of Agriculture?s Rural Utilities Service. The pilot project plans to string 450 miles of fibre cable to deliver high speed internet to about 100 homes in the region. The eventual plan is to scale up the initiative by laying 1,200 miles of fibre to reach 4,500 customers and to serve as a template for similar rural initiatives across the country. The local government is hopeful that this move will improve educational services in the area with access made possible through high speed internet.
Canada-based internet service provider Xplornet Communications, Inc. has raised $230 million in private financing to expand its broadband network across rural Canada. Some of the financing will be used to expand Xplornet?s network to bring affordable high speed internet to an estimated 2.4 million rural and remote households. Since the company?s market lies mostly in low density areas where wired networks do not make economic sense, the company plans to utilise a combination of wireless and satellite technology for its new network. The Wi-Max advanced wireless technology that the company is using makes efficient use of radio spectrum to deliver more capacity at lower costs. Canada has also launched the Connecting Rural Canadians programme, which is giving $7.4 million to Tamani, the regional telecom service provider, to improve broadband speeds and connectivity in Canada?s Nunavik region.
In Africa, a Dubai-based company plans to roll out 5,000 internet kiosks. The solar-powered kiosks will bring internet connectivity to rural Africa and provide jobs in some of the most impoverished areas of the continent. These rural internet kiosks will include internet access, a mobile phone charging station, advertising screens and a photo booth. The main advantage of these kiosks is that they will not require any fixed infrastructure, as they are powered by the sun and connected to the internet via roof-mounted satellite dishes. The company hopes to take the internet to the grassroots level by deploying these machines. The kiosks have already been piloted in Uganda and Kenya, and there are plans to extend the scheme to Afghanistan.
South Africa?s rural areas are set to receive high speed internet via satellite. Local information and communication technology firm Mavoni Technologies, in partnership with international satellite company O3B, will bring high speed internet to South Africa?s rural areas. This includes public institutions, specifically schools in rural areas. The move is a part of O3B?s larger plan of taking the internet to emerging markets like Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. South Africa, one of the biggest beneficiaries under the initiative, will see five of a total of eight satellites cater to its needs in a measure that is likely to improve the country?s rural connectivity.
In Oman, the government is giving special emphasis to extending telecommunication services to people living in remote areas. The regulatory authorities have made it mandatory for telecom operators to offer services through wireless local loop in less populated, remote areas. The government aims to provide the remotest areas in the Sultanate with premium mobile phone and internet services, not just to eliminate digital illiteracy but also to enable all individuals to access electronic services and benefit from better services in fields such as health care and education. The information and communications technology (ICT) sector can thus help overcome geographical barriers and reach out to various Omani cities and villages.
In Asia, Bangladesh has called for the expansion of ICT-related services to cover all rural households in the country in a bid to narrow the digital divide. The government is taking the necessary initiatives to set up the country?s first satellite and improve its overall telecom and IT system. It is also expanding internet and broadband services to the district and subdivision levels. The government has recently unveiled the road map for the Digital Bangladesh 2021 programme, which aims to cover schools and rural households. The Chinese government is planning to expand broadband internet coverage to rural areas during the country?s twelfth five-year plan period (2011-15). The government aims to make broadband available to 95 per cent of the country?s administrative villages by end-2015. It is also planning to expand telephone services to all villages with more than 20 households during the same period. The Government of China aims to establish a system that will boost the development of rural communication networks with government financial support over the next five years.
The Australian government has contracted Ericsson to build and operate a 2.3 GHz fixed wireless broadband network based on LTE technology as part of the National Broadband Network (NBN) strategies. Ericsson will serve rural Australia with download speeds of up to 12 Mbps and upload speeds reaching 1 Mbps. NBN?s new national network will enhance possibilities in health and education. High speed broadband will facilitate the transfer of medical images, remote doctor consultations and long distance training for medical professionals. These broadband services will also provide improved access to medical professionals, medical monitoring services and educational services.
With positive initiatives by private telecom operators and government support, the rural telecom market across the world is likely to show strong growth in the future.
