91,398 research outputs found
Iowa Communications Network Performance Report, FY2007
Agency Performance Repor
Toward Universal Broadband in Rural Alaska
The TERRA-Southwest project is extending broadband service to 65 communities in the
Bristol Bay, Bethel and Yukon-Kuskokwim regions. A stimulus project funded by a combination
of grants and loans from the Rural Utilities Service (RUS), TERRA-Southwest has installed a
middle-mile network using optical fiber and terrestrial microwave. Last-mile service will be
through fixed wireless or interconnection with local telephone networks.
The State of Alaska, through its designee Connect Alaska, also received federal stimulus
funding from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) for tasks
that include support for an Alaska Broadband Task Force “to both formalize a strategic broadband
plan for the state of Alaska and coordinate broadband activities across relevant agencies and
organizations.”
Thus, a study of the impact of the TERRA project in southwest Alaska is both relevant and
timely. This first phase provides baseline data on current access to and use of ICTs and Internet
connectivity in rural Alaska, and some insights about perceived benefits and potential barriers to
adoption of broadband. It is also intended to provide guidance to the State Broadband Task Force
in determining how the extension of broadband throughout the state could contribute to education,
social services, and economic activities that would enhance Alaska’s future. Results of the
research could also be used proactively to develop strategies to encourage broadband adoption,
and to identify applications and support needed by users with limited ICT skills.Connect Alaska.
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration.
General Communications Incorporated.Part 1: An Analysis of Internet Use in Southwest Alaska / Introduction / Previous Studies / Current Connectivity / Analytical Framework and Research Methodology / Demographics / Mobile Phones: Access and Use / Access to the Internet / Internet Useage / Considerations about Internet Service / Interest in Broadband / Sources of News / Comparison with National Data / Internet Use by Businesses and Organizations / What Difference may Broadband make in the Region? / Conclusiongs / Part 2 Literature Review / Reference
NGOS and Internet Use in Uganda
Information technology (IT) research has ignored examining\ud
the impact of the Internet on unconnected stakeholder communities in the South. This research, which investigates how non-governmental organisations (NGOs) with connectivity are utilising the Internet for their daily operations, and how they are able to acquire and disseminate information from the Internet to their stakeholders, hopes to correct such injustices. The research was undertaken over an eight-week period in early 1998 in Uganda, East Africa. The survey involved representatives of 33 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) responding to seven openended questions related to their organisations’ use of the Internet, and their information communication patterns. The paper begins with a brief background on Uganda and its telecommunications environment, including a summary of the seven Internet Service Providers (ISPs) currently operating in the country. The survey questions are identified, and the responses are organised into thematic categories which became apparent during the course of the study. The term “Internet” is used to refer to email-only services, as well as World Wide Web services. The research found that NGOs report benefiting from their use of the Internet through reduced transmission costs, access to new and relevant information, and greater contact with their own field sites and partner organisations. NGO representatives’ responses also indicate that the dissemination of Internet-acquired information is occurring with their stakeholders, regardless whether those stakeholders have connectivity or not. The majority of NGOs surveyed (70%) have only one computer with Internet connectivity within their offices; this presents challenges and restrictions in terms of the frequency with which the Internet can be accessed. A mere 5% of the NGOs with field sites reported that those sites were connected with either email or Internet; 33% reported having field sites without any means of direct voice or data transmission systems. The\ud
majority of NGOs with World Wide Web service reported using the systems for accessing and researching documents relevant to their work, but 32% of those organisations reported that they either seldom or never used the Internet that was available to them. Most NGOs reported that they used the email to communicate with international partners; use of the\ud
Internet for local communications is low. Respondents reported that email was a very convenient mode of communications, effective in transmitting documents at lower costs than other technologies. Obtaining access to the\ud
computers, and the sending and receiving of attached documents proved the most problematic issues for respondents; the latter issue raises questions about the quality of training these organisations are receiving\ud
from their ISPs. The paper concludes with lessons learned from the research, and recommends areas for more detailed study
Telecommunications 2004: Business Strategy, HR Practices, and Performance
This national benchmarking report of the U.S. telecommunications services industry traces the tumultuous changes in management and workforce practices and performance in the sector over the last 5 years. This is a follow-up report to our 1998 study. At that time, when the industry was booming, we conducted a national survey of establishments in the industry. In 2003, we returned to do a second national survey of the industry, this time in a sector that was recovering from one of the worst recessions in its history
Telecommunications 2004: Strategy, HR Practices & Performance - Cornell-Rutgers Telecommunications Project
This national benchmarking report of the U.S. telecommunications services industry traces the tumultuous changes in management and workforce practices and performance in the sector over the last 5 years. This is a follow-up report to our 1998 study. At that time, when the industry was booming, we conducted a national survey of establishments in the industry. In 2003, we returned to do a second national survey of the industry, this time in a sector that was recovering from one of the worst recessions in its history
Report on Polish Public Libraries 2001
Report is an overview of polish public libraries, services to a variety of communities, it also provides statistics, n explanation of the funding policy for public libraries in Poland and information about the governance of public libraries in the country
Beyond Infrastructure: Broadband for Development in Remote and Indigenous Regions
Recent telecommunications stimulus projects in the U.S. and Canada were intended to increase availability of broadband through funding infrastructure investments, largely in rural and remote regions. However, true access involves more than availability; it also includes affordability and adoption. This paper presents a framework for analyzing broadband adoption that takes into consideration geographical, economic and cultural environments in indigenous communities. It includes an overview of potential social and economic impacts of broadband in remote areas, using examples from the Alaska study and the Canadian North. It then reports on results of an evaluation of Internet use and potential adoption of broadband in remote indigenous communities of southwest Alaska. Finally, the paper provides a comparative analysis of U.S. and Canadian policies intended to achieve affordable access to broadband for rural users and sustainable business models for rural broadband providers.Ye
Subscriber churn in the Australian ISP market
Rapid growth in Internet use, combined with easy market entry by Internet service providers (ISPs), has resulted in a highly competitive supply of Internet services. Australian
ISPs range in size from a few large national operators to niche ISPs focused on specialised service. With many ISPs currently not profitable, subscriber retention is an important aspect of survival. This study develops a model which relates the probability of subscriber churn to
various service attributes and subscriber characteristics. Estimation results show that churn probability is positively associated with monthly ISP expenditure, but inversely related to household income. Pricing also matters with subscribers preferring ISPs which offer flat-rate pricing arrangements.
An Application of Multimedia Services on Transportation: The Use of the World Wide Web (WWW)
INTRODUCTION
In recent years, there is an ever-increasing demand and interest in the use of multimedia
technology and applications in industry, government and academia. Multimedia is often
seen by researchers as the next step forward in interfacing science, technology and
community. Yet, the terminology of multimedia bears several meanings. It may refer to
Compact Disc (CD), moving pictures or video-conferencing. The multimedia technology
referred in this paper is the World Wide Web (WWW) hypertext publishing information
system which was developed by and started at the European Laboratory for Particle
Physics (CERN) in Geneva, Switzerland. Since the introduction of WWW, its use has
increased dramatically within a couple of years in a widely diverse community including
government departments, university and research establishments, and commercial
organisations. It has significant influence to our communities and our daily lives. Yet, in
most cases, applications of WWW services are largely restricted to electronic library
referencelcatalogue search facilities, electronic mail systems, electronic conference and
discussion systems, electronic news and publishing agents, and remote access to computing
resources on the Internet.
The primary objective of this paper is to exploit the potential of this multimedia technology
as a simple, easy-to-use and effective means of telematics application in transportation
research. It is hoped that initiatives are highlighted via this study and hence encourage
participations and collaborations from different sectors of industries.
In this paper, a brief history of WWW is given in section (2). An overview of the technical
aspects in providing a WWW service is presented in section (3) in terms of computer
hardware requirements, software installation, network connections, application
maintenance and administration, and system security. Compared to most commercially
available multimedia software in the market, WWW services are cheap to run, userfriendly
and readily available to the public on the Internet. In order to exploit the potential
of WWW on transportation research, a study was carried out and results of the findings are
reported in section (4). To further substantiate the level of usefulness, two particular
WWW applications were chosen amongst other web services and they are reported in
section (5) for illustrative purposes. The selected applications are the 'Transportation
Resources on the Internet' developed in mid-1994 in the Institute for Transport Studies
(ITS) at the University of Leeds in England, and the 'Southern California Real-Time
Traffic Report' developed by Maxwell Laboratories, Inc. in collaboration with the
California State Department of Transportation in the US. Finally, a set of issues are raised
in section (6), highlighting the directions of future development of WWW as an easy-touse,
cheap and effective multimedia telematics application on transportation
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