Costs and benefits of superfast broadband in the UK

This paper was commissioned from LSE Enterprise by Convergys Smart Revenue Solutions to stimulate an open and constructive debate among the main stakeholders about the balance between the costs, the revenues, and the societal benefits of ‘superfast’ broadband. The intent has been to analyse the available facts and to propose wider perspectives on economic and social interactions. The paper has two parts: one concentrates on superfast broadband deployment and the associated economic and social implications (for the UK and its service providers), and the other considers alternative social science approaches to these implications. Both parts consider the potential contribution of smart solutions to superfast broadband provision and use. Whereas Part I takes the “national perspective” and the “service provider perspective”, which deal with the implications of superfast broadband for the UK and for service providers, Part II views matters in other ways, particularly by looking at how to realise values beyond the market economy, such as those inherent in neighbourliness, trust and democrac

InfoInternet for Education in the Global South: A Study of Applications Enabled by Free Information-only Internet Access in Technologically Disadvantaged Areas (authors' version)

This paper summarises our work on studying educational applications enabled by the introduction of a new information layer called InfoInternet. This is an initiative to facilitate affordable access to internet based information in communities with network scarcity or economic problems from the Global South. InfoInternet develops both networking solutions as well as business and social models, together with actors like mobile operators and government organisations. In this paper we identify and describe characteristics of educational applications, their specific users, and learning environment. We are interested in applications that make the adoption of Internet faster, cheaper, and wider in such communities. When developing new applications (or adopting existing ones) for such constrained environments, this work acts as initial guidelines prior to field studies.Comment: 16 pages, 1 figure, under review for a journal since March 201

Implications of the digital divide on rural SME resilience

This paper examines the implications of the ‘digital divide’ on the capabilities for Small and Medium Sized enterprises (SMEs) to operate in the face of challenging economic times, such as the Coronavirus pandemic. Previous research has shown that rural businesses, especially SMEs, are more impacted by lower levels of digital connectivity than those in urban areas, with this digital divide affecting business' entrepreneurial activity. Using data from a survey of 110 businesses in Wales, the paper investigates the barriers and opportunities associated with the accessibility of high-speed broadband services and its impact on business decisions. Findings show that digital connectivity across rural areas of Wales has improved due to infrastructure investments; however, many businesses were still without reliable digital connections. Logistic regression findings show that location and distance to urban areas are significant variables relating to satisfactory levels of digital connectivity, with the impact of these more evident in rural areas. The implications of which are reduced opportunities for businesses to pursue diversified activities, limiting the ability of these businesses to develop resilience in economically challenging times. Furthermore, the paper considers how the Coronavirus pandemic has driven many business activities online, therefore businesses with less reliable access to digital connectivity and lacking an online presence are likely to be more constrained in their ability to be resilient

Architectures and Key Technical Challenges for 5G Systems Incorporating Satellites

Satellite Communication systems are a promising solution to extend and complement terrestrial networks in unserved or under-served areas. This aspect is reflected by recent commercial and standardisation endeavours. In particular, 3GPP recently initiated a Study Item for New Radio-based, i.e., 5G, Non-Terrestrial Networks aimed at deploying satellite systems either as a stand-alone solution or as an integration to terrestrial networks in mobile broadband and machine-type communication scenarios. However, typical satellite channel impairments, as large path losses, delays, and Doppler shifts, pose severe challenges to the realisation of a satellite-based NR network. In this paper, based on the architecture options currently being discussed in the standardisation fora, we discuss and assess the impact of the satellite channel characteristics on the physical and Medium Access Control layers, both in terms of transmitted waveforms and procedures for enhanced Mobile BroadBand (eMBB) and NarrowBand-Internet of Things (NB-IoT) applications. The proposed analysis shows that the main technical challenges are related to the PHY/MAC procedures, in particular Random Access (RA), Timing Advance (TA), and Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest (HARQ) and, depending on the considered service and architecture, different solutions are proposed.Comment: Submitted to Transactions on Vehicular Technologies, April 201

Onlincolnshire Knowledge Base Collaboration

This report outlines the Onlincolnshire Knowledge Base Collaboration project undertaken by Lincoln Business School between May 2014 and September 2015. Onlincolnshire is a Lincolnshire County Council-run project which is part-funded by the East Midlands European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Programme 2007 to 2013. As well as improving the broadband infrastructure, Onlincolnshire delivered a range of support to Lincolnshire’s Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) through the “Business Connectivity in Lincolnshire and Rutland” (BCLR) strand of activities. This included short courses and one to one assistance covering topic areas such as social media, online marketing and web security. However a need was identified to enhance this provision to provide businesses with the opportunity to explore how digital know-how and ICT technology could be used to deliver significant growth benefits by working in collaboration with the University's knowledge base on a tailored project

Design and implementation of components for renewably-powered base-stations with heterogeneous access channel

Providing high-speed broadband services in remote areas can be a challenging task, especially because of the lack of network infrastructure. As typical broadband technologies are often expensive to deploy, they require large investment from the local authorities. Previous studies have shown that a viable alternative is to use wireless base stations with high-throughput point to point (PTP) backhaul links. With base stations comes the problem of powering their systems, it is tackled in this thesis by relying on renewable energy harvesting, such as solar panels or wind turbines. This thesis, in the context of the sustainable cellular network harvesting ambient energy (SCAVENGE) project, aims to contribute to a reliable and energy efficient solution to this problem, by adjusting the design of an existing multi-radio energy harvesting base station. In Western Europe, 49 channels of 8 MHz were used for analogue TV transmissions, ranging from 470 MHz (Channel 21) to 862 MHz (Channel 69); this spectrum, now partially unused due to the digital television (DTV) switch-over, has been opened to alternative uses by the regulatory authorities. Using this newly freed ultra high frequency (UHF) range, also known as TV white space (TVWS), can offer reliable low-cost broadband access to housings and businesses in low-density areas. While UHF transmitters allow long range links, the overcrowding of the TV spectrum limits the achievable throughput; to increase the capacity of such TVWS rural broadband base station the UHF radio has previously been combined with a lower-range higher throughput GHz radio like Wireless Fidelity (WiFi). From the regulatory constraints of TVWS applications arises the need for frequency agile transceivers that observe strict spectral mask requirements, this guided previous works towards discrete Fourier transform (DFT) modulated filter-bank multicarrier (FBMC) systems. These systems are numerically efficient, as they permit the up-and-down conversion of the 40 TV channels at the cost of a single channel transceiver and the modulating transform. Typical implementations rely on power-of two fast Fourier transforms (FFTs); however the smallest transform covering the full 40 channels of the TVWS spectrum is a 64 points wide, thus involving 24 unused channels. In order to attain a more numerically-efficient implemented design, we introduce the use of mixed-radix FFTs modulating transform. Testing various sizes and architectures, this approach provides up to 6.7% of energy saving compared to previous designs. Different from orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM), FBMC systems are generally expected to be more robust to synchronisation errors, as oversampled FBMC systems can include a guard band, and even in a doubly-dispersive channel, inter-carrier interference (ICI) can be considered negligible. Even though sub-channels can be treated independently—i.e. without the use of cross-terms—they still require equalisation. We introduce a per-band equalisation, amongst different options, a robust and fast blind approach based on a concurrent constant modulus (CM)/decision directed (DD) fractionally-space equaliser (FSE) is selected. The selected approach is capable of equalising a frequency-selective channel. Furthermore the proposed architecture is advantageous in terms of power consumption and implementation cost. After focussing on the design of the radio for TVWS transmission, we address a multi-radio user assignment problem. Using various power consumption and harvesting models for the base station, we formulate two optimisation problems, the first focuses on the base station power consumption, while the second concentrates on load balancing. We employ a dynamic programming approach to optimise the user assignment. The use of such algorithms could allow a downsizing of the power supply systems (harvesters and batteries), thus reducing the cost of the base station. Furthermore the algorithms provide a better balance between the number of users assigned to each network, resulting in a higher quality of service (QoS) and energy efficiency.Providing high-speed broadband services in remote areas can be a challenging task, especially because of the lack of network infrastructure. As typical broadband technologies are often expensive to deploy, they require large investment from the local authorities. Previous studies have shown that a viable alternative is to use wireless base stations with high-throughput point to point (PTP) backhaul links. With base stations comes the problem of powering their systems, it is tackled in this thesis by relying on renewable energy harvesting, such as solar panels or wind turbines. This thesis, in the context of the sustainable cellular network harvesting ambient energy (SCAVENGE) project, aims to contribute to a reliable and energy efficient solution to this problem, by adjusting the design of an existing multi-radio energy harvesting base station. In Western Europe, 49 channels of 8 MHz were used for analogue TV transmissions, ranging from 470 MHz (Channel 21) to 862 MHz (Channel 69); this spectrum, now partially unused due to the digital television (DTV) switch-over, has been opened to alternative uses by the regulatory authorities. Using this newly freed ultra high frequency (UHF) range, also known as TV white space (TVWS), can offer reliable low-cost broadband access to housings and businesses in low-density areas. While UHF transmitters allow long range links, the overcrowding of the TV spectrum limits the achievable throughput; to increase the capacity of such TVWS rural broadband base station the UHF radio has previously been combined with a lower-range higher throughput GHz radio like Wireless Fidelity (WiFi). From the regulatory constraints of TVWS applications arises the need for frequency agile transceivers that observe strict spectral mask requirements, this guided previous works towards discrete Fourier transform (DFT) modulated filter-bank multicarrier (FBMC) systems. These systems are numerically efficient, as they permit the up-and-down conversion of the 40 TV channels at the cost of a single channel transceiver and the modulating transform. Typical implementations rely on power-of two fast Fourier transforms (FFTs); however the smallest transform covering the full 40 channels of the TVWS spectrum is a 64 points wide, thus involving 24 unused channels. In order to attain a more numerically-efficient implemented design, we introduce the use of mixed-radix FFTs modulating transform. Testing various sizes and architectures, this approach provides up to 6.7% of energy saving compared to previous designs. Different from orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM), FBMC systems are generally expected to be more robust to synchronisation errors, as oversampled FBMC systems can include a guard band, and even in a doubly-dispersive channel, inter-carrier interference (ICI) can be considered negligible. Even though sub-channels can be treated independently—i.e. without the use of cross-terms—they still require equalisation. We introduce a per-band equalisation, amongst different options, a robust and fast blind approach based on a concurrent constant modulus (CM)/decision directed (DD) fractionally-space equaliser (FSE) is selected. The selected approach is capable of equalising a frequency-selective channel. Furthermore the proposed architecture is advantageous in terms of power consumption and implementation cost. After focussing on the design of the radio for TVWS transmission, we address a multi-radio user assignment problem. Using various power consumption and harvesting models for the base station, we formulate two optimisation problems, the first focuses on the base station power consumption, while the second concentrates on load balancing. We employ a dynamic programming approach to optimise the user assignment. The use of such algorithms could allow a downsizing of the power supply systems (harvesters and batteries), thus reducing the cost of the base station. Furthermore the algorithms provide a better balance between the number of users assigned to each network, resulting in a higher quality of service (QoS) and energy efficiency

Emerging technologies for learning (volume 1)

Collection of 5 articles on emerging technologies and trend

Broadband ecosystem elements in techno-economic modelling and analysing of broadband access solutions for rural areas

S obzirom na postojeće razvojne inicijative i strategije čiji je cilj smanjenje postojećeg digitalnog jaza između europskih ruralnih i urbanih područja do 2020. godine, u radu je provedena analiza trenutnog stanja na tržištu širokopojasnog Interneta na primjeru hrvatskih ruralnih područja te su navedene mogućnosti daljnje implementacije širokopojasnih pristupnih rješenja u ruralna područja u kontekstu analize elemenata širokopojasnog ekosustava. Nadalje, u cilju rješavanja postojećeg problema digitalnog jaza, pri analizama načina implementacije širokopojasnih pristupnih rješenja u ruralnim područjima predložena je primjena proširenog tehno-ekonomskog modeliranja. Navedeno proširenje nadograđuje standardne modele, a omogućuje detaljniju analizu specifičnosti različitih pristupnih rješenja za ruralna područja. U posljednjem dijelu rada prikazana je mogućnost primjene predloženog modela pri odabiru najboljih poslovnih strategija za različita fiksna i mobilna, žična te bežična širokopojasna pristupna rješenja za ruralna područja.Encouraged by broadband development initiatives and strategies that aim at the reduction of the existing digital divide between rural and urban European areas by the year 2020, the current situation in the case study of Croatian rural broadband market is analysed, and the possibilities for further broadband Internet access implementation in rural areas are highlighted in the paper within the context of broadband ecosystem elements analysis. Furthermore, in order to address the exisiting digital divide problem, an extended techno-economic modelling process for rural broadband Internet access implementation analyses is proposed. The proposed additional part of model serves as an upgrade for the standard techno-economic models and allows a detailed analysis of the specificities of different rural areas, based on the available data. Finally, the efficiency of the proposed model’s application when choosing the best business strategies for different fixed and mobile, wired and wireless broadband access solutions in rural areas is presented

The Contribution of Information and Communication Technology to the wellbeing of the urban poor in South Africa

Within the context of an increasingly pervasive digital society, this study seeks to understand the extent to which Internet-enabled mobile phones contribute towards the social and economic inclusion or exclusion of the urban poor in South Africa. This stems from the growing recognition that although mobile phones may be tools for opportunity and development, access to these devices may not be sufficient to ensure that they are used optimally for development. Stubbornly high mobile broadband prices and ineffectual policy reform in South Africa alternatively risk not only inhibiting meaningful ICT usage by the poor, but also potentially exacerbating their current economic marginalisation through digital exclusion. To analyse the relationship between mobile phone usage and urban poor development, Roxana Barrantes’ demand-focused Digital Poverty Framework is quantitatively applied to nationally representative data from the 2017 “Beyond Access” Research ICT Africa Household and Individual ICT access/usage survey. Results indicate that only percent 12 percent of urban individuals at the Bottom of the Economic Pyramid (BoP) are capable of actively using their Internet-enabled mobile phones on a daily basis in meaningful ways. Although all Internetenabled mobile phone users at the urban BoP are capable of using their devices to strengthen their economic, social and human capabilities; optimal usage is only predicted with a 5 percent probability in terms of both daily use and quality of opportunities generated for improved wellbeing. Accounting for the confounding presence of students, a Generalised Ordered Logit regression identifies digital literacy and mobile broadband affordability as primary barriers to the optimisation of Internet-enabled mobile phone use. In spite of ongoing regulatory pressure on operators to reduce prices, these findings highlights the current inefficacy of these efforts to promote greater digital inclusion among the mobile-data dependent urban BoP. This failure suggests a critical need for State policies to improve the viability of complementary and free aggregated access to mobile broadband alternatives, such as Free Public Wi-Fi, that can optimise the developmental potential of mobile phones for the urban poor. Such policies that additionally address digital skills needs of the poor are even better suited to equip the State to tackle key barriers of digital literacy and awareness as arguably more intractable problems to promoting effective ICT use and digital equality