40 Gbps Access for Metro networks: Implications in terms of Sustainability and Innovation from an LCA Perspective

In this work, the implications of new technologies, more specifically the new optical FTTH technologies, are studied both from the functional and non-functional perspectives. In particular, some direct impacts are listed in the form of abandoning non-functional technologies, such as micro-registration, which would be implicitly required for having a functioning operation before arrival the new high-bandwidth access technologies. It is shown that such abandonment of non-functional best practices, which are mainly at the management level of ICT, immediately results in additional consumption and environmental footprint, and also there is a chance that some other new innovations might be 'missed.' Therefore, unconstrained deployment of these access technologies is not aligned with a possible sustainable ICT picture, except if they are regulated. An approach to pricing the best practices, including both functional and non-functional technologies, is proposed in order to develop a regulation and policy framework for a sustainable broadband access.Comment: 10 pages, 6 Tables, 1 Figure. Accepted to be presented at the ICT4S'15 Conferenc

Energy-efficiency improvements for optical access

This article discusses novel approaches to improve energy efficiency of different optical access technologies, including time division multiplexing passive optical network (TDM-PON), time and wavelength division multiplexing PON (TWDM-PON), point-to-point (PTP) access network, wavelength division multiplexing PON (WDM-PON), and orthogonal frequency division multiple access PON (OFDMA-PON). These approaches include cyclic sleep mode, energy-efficient bit interleaving protocol, power reduction at component level, or frequency band selection. Depending on the target optical access technology, one or a combination of different approaches can be applied

Evolution of the EU broadband policy: Towards an integrated framework?

Since more than two decades, broadband has been recognized in the EU as having great benefits to economic and social development.This recognition is evident in the first EU policy document on the telecommunications market - the 1987 Green Paper - which assumed that harmonization and liberalization through competition mechanism could be used as the tools to bring all those benefits to the European citizens. Although the policy in the following years emphasized the competition mechanism, many additional instruments were developed and implemented in order to make broadband available to all European citizen. Some instruments can be seen in the form of Directives, and some instruments are shown in many policy strategies. All of them have a considerable contribution to the growth of broadband deployment in the EU. However, with globalization, the policy impetus for broadband has shifted toward a means to increase competitiveness of a nation or region.This changing emphasis due to globalization and competitiveness impacts the design of policy instruments. A question can be raised which instruments can serve a new concept of future broadband policy. Against this background, the paper will present an evolutionary concept of broadband policy in the EU by providing a model to integrate the related broadband policy instruments. A timeline of all instruments and initiatives being implemented will be explored. This evolution will be analyzed in order to see what kind of future model is applicable when broadband policy is based on a perspective of globalization and regional competitiveness. The analysis will address how well the existing instruments can serve a new concept of broadband policy and what the needs are for new policy instruments and working structures. --network society,post-industrial society,broadband policy,the EU,sector,agenda,strategic agenda

First Principles for an Effective Rewrite of the Telecommunications Act of 1996

The increasing centrality of the Internet in modern communications, together with massive changes in the landscape of the telecommunications market, have intensified the calls for Congress to overhaul the Telecommunications Act of 1996. In this paper, we analyze this looming legislative challenge by dividing it into two sets of issues: first, issues concerning the proper substance of telecommunications policy reform; and, second, issues concerning the appropriate institutions for carrying out that reform. In Part I, we argue that Congress should require regulators to adhere more closely to (and justify departures from) basic antitrust principles in developing the substance of competition policy. In particular, we explore how those principles would have brought greater predictability and analytical rigor to the FCC's implementation of statutory provisions requiring incumbent telephone providers to lease parts of their networks to competitors. Moreover, we explain how antitrust principles can now inform the current debate over whether to regulate broadband platforms to prevent discrimination against independent providers of applications like voice over Internet protocol. In Part II, we turn to Congress's institutional choices in reforming telecommunications regulation.Despite our advocacy for antitrust-oriented rules of decision, we argue for a continued reliance on the FCC, rather than antitrust courts, as the appropriate institution for superintending the efficient development of competition throughout the industry.Not only does the FCC enjoy specialized expertise in the economics and technology of the telecommunications industry, it also enjoys a distinct advantage over courts in developing and enforcing complicated ,and necessary,prescriptive rules, such as those governing interconnection and its associated intercarrier fees. At the same time, the FCC will increasingly need to refocus its energies from prescriptive regulation to a new emphasis on after-the-fact enforcement and market-monitoring, much like the role played today by the Federal Trade Commission.

The coherence of EU trade, competition, and industry policies in the high tech sector : the case of the telecommunications services sector

We analyze the coherence existing among European Union competition, industry, and trade policies in the high tech sector in general terms focusing on its specific features (externalities, fast progress) and their effects on the emergence and treatment of policy consistency and conflicts. Second, this analysis is applied to the European telecommunications services sector. The examination of this sector and the relevant EU policies reveals a consensus on giving priority to competition. However structural factors prevent policy implementation to reflect much liberalization and harmonization and business responses to trade globalization challenge effective competition. The potential, important role of standardization is shown.economics of technology ;

Electronic communications regulation in Europe : an overview of past and future problems

For many years, electronic communications has been one of the most important areas of policy intervention or the European Union. Liberalisation and privatisation of the telecommunications industry were very important topics of the policy debate in the two decades from 1990 to 2010. In these years, the EU developed a sophisticated regulatory framework aspiring to the principle of favouring the entrance of new players in the sector and characterised by a strong pro-competition flavour. More recently, however, the necessity of mobilising important investments for the creation of new Next Generation Networks, capable of delivering all the benefits of the digital revolution to European citizens, has cast doubts on the validity of the established framework. This paper discusses the solutions adopted during the liberalisation process and summarizes some of the key future challenges to the existing regulatory framework

Real-time dynamic spectrum management for multi-user multi-carrier communication systems

Dynamic spectrum management is recognized as a key technique to tackle interference in multi-user multi-carrier communication systems and networks. However existing dynamic spectrum management algorithms may not be suitable when the available computation time and compute power are limited, i.e., when a very fast responsiveness is required. In this paper, we present a new paradigm, theory and algorithm for real-time dynamic spectrum management (RT-DSM) under tight real-time constraints. Specifically, a RT-DSM algorithm can be stopped at any point in time while guaranteeing a feasible and improved solution. This is enabled by the introduction of a novel difference-of-variables (DoV) transformation and problem reformulation, for which a primal coordinate ascent approach is proposed with exact line search via a logarithmicly scaled grid search. The concrete proposed algorithm is referred to as iterative power difference balancing (IPDB). Simulations for different realistic wireline and wireless interference limited systems demonstrate its good performance, low complexity and wide applicability under different configurations.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures. This work has been submitted to the IEEE for possible publicatio