Sunday, October 5, 2008

Parkland Rural Broadband Study

The Parkland Rural Broadband Study was conducted from June to September 2008.
The report is available at:
Parkland Rural Broadband Study
This is the first comprehensive rural broadband study completed in Alberta. This study will provide the framework for all future rural broadband studies.
Lessons learned:
1. Broadband is an Economic Enabler.
2. There are different broadband markets within a county and each have different broadband requirements. These include:
- Residential Requirements
- Business Requirements
- Industrial Park Requirements
- County Specific Requirements
3. There is no economic model that supports broadband in low density areas.
4. Rural communities will require long term government assistance in building the last mile in low density areas.
5. Rural communities will migrate from a connectivity limited market to a capacity limited market within 3 years. This will have a major economic impact on the WiFI networks currently being implemented.
6. WiMAX 802.16e using licensed spectrum will future proof the network and be able to support the future capacity limited networks.
7. The Alberta government has not fulfilled their promise to provide broadband to rural communities.






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