IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/itse18/184946.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Comparative Techno-Economic Evaluation of LTE Fixed Wireless Access and FTTdp G.fast network deployment for providing broadband services of at least 30Mbps in rural areas

Author

Listed:
  • Ioannou, Nikos
  • Katsianis, Dimitris
  • Varoutas, Dimitris

Abstract

In rural areas in Europe, the deployment of High-Speed Broadband access networks lags behind in urban and suburban areas due to difficulties of deployment of fiber in the final meters. FTTdp networks using G.fast have been proposed as a cost-effective alternative to FTTH and FTTB [1] especially in rural areas [2] where FTTC and VDSL cannot always deliver service speeds of 30Mbps which is the minimum bandwidth defined in the European Digital Agenda as target to be met by 2020. However, fixed wireless access (FWA) networks based on LTE technology can be used as a "last mile" solution to provide high-speed broadband access to areas where fixed broadband is limited [3]–[5]. On the other hand, LTE technology offers high speed connections able to support internet browsing and IP services, while it can theoretically support up to 300 Mbps depending on network load and sharing. Thus, it can be considered as a true alternative to any fixed solution. In this paper, a techno-economic study is performed to assess the feasibility of a FWA network deployment based on LTE technology in comparison to FTTdp G.fast network rollout for delivering service speeds of 30Mbps in rural areas. We present cash flow results and standard financial indexes for the business cases discussed. The results are being appraised through a sensitivity and risk analysis to determine the most influential factors on the return on the investment. We also discuss the (non) profitability of both cases and the subsidization needed from structural funds. The results aim to contribute in the debate over network evolution scenarios among academia, industry, regulators, policy makers and governments.

Suggested Citation

  • Ioannou, Nikos & Katsianis, Dimitris & Varoutas, Dimitris, 2018. "Comparative Techno-Economic Evaluation of LTE Fixed Wireless Access and FTTdp G.fast network deployment for providing broadband services of at least 30Mbps in rural areas," 29th European Regional ITS Conference, Trento 2018 184946, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:itse18:184946
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/184946/1/Ioannou-et-al.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rendon Schneir, Juan & Xiong, Yupeng, 2016. "A cost study of fixed broadband access networks for rural areas," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(8), pages 755-773.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Chiha, Asma & Van der Wee, Marlies & Colle, Didier & Verbrugge, Sofie, 2020. "Techno-economic viability of integrating satellite communication in 4G networks to bridge the broadband digital divide," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(3).
    2. Alba Vázquez-López & Martín Barrasa-Rioja & Manuel Marey-Perez, 2021. "ICT in Rural Areas from the Perspective of Dairy Farming: A Systematic Review," Future Internet, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-18, April.
    3. Lee, Hyeongjik & Jeong, Seonkoo & Lee, Kwanghee, 2020. "Developing the Method for Estimating the Costs of Providing Broadband Universal Service: Korean Case," ITS Conference, Online Event 2020 224865, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
    4. Laitsou, Eleni & Katsianis, Dimitris, 2021. "Comparative Techno-Economic Evaluation of 5G mobile network deployments in different scale urban areas," 23rd ITS Biennial Conference, Online Conference / Gothenburg 2021. Digital societies and industrial transformations: Policies, markets, and technologies in a post-Covid world 238034, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lee, Hyeongjik & Jeong, Seonkoo & Lee, Kwanghee, 2023. "The South Korean case of deploying rural broadband via fiber networks by implementing universal service obligation and public-private partnership based project," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(3).
    2. Oughton, Edward J. & Amaglobeli, David & Moszoro, Marian, 2023. "What would it cost to connect the unconnected? Estimating global universal broadband infrastructure investment," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(10).
    3. Lee, Hyeongjik & Jeong, Seonkoo & Lee, Kwanghee, 2020. "Developing the Method for Estimating the Costs of Providing Broadband Universal Service: Korean Case," ITS Conference, Online Event 2020 224865, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
    4. Baischew, Dajan & Schrade-Grytsenko, Lisa & Sörries, Bernd & Stronzik, Marcus & Wissner, Matthias, 2022. "Ausgewählte Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien und ihre Auswirkungen auf umweltpolitische Ziele," WIK Discussion Papers 492, WIK Wissenschaftliches Institut für Infrastruktur und Kommunikationsdienste GmbH.
    5. Ioannou, Nikos & Katsianis, Dimitris & Varoutas, Dimitris, 2020. "Comparative techno-economic evaluation of LTE fixed wireless access, FTTdp G.fast and FTTC VDSL network deployment for providing 30 Mbps broadband services in rural areas," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(3).
    6. Lelie, T. & Sadowski, B. & Brennenreadts, R. & Smits, J., 2017. "Government involvement and learning in business model experimentation: NGA deployment in rural areas in the Netherlands," 28th European Regional ITS Conference, Passau 2017 169479, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
    7. Lee, Hyeongjik & Jeong, Seonkoo & Lee, Kwanghee, 2021. "Estimating the deployment costs of broadband universal service via fiber networks in Korea," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(4).
    8. Feijóo, Claudio & Ramos, Sergio & Armuña, Cristina & Arenal, Alberto & Gómez-Barroso, José-Luis, 2018. "A study on the deployment of high-speed broadband networks in NUTS3 regions within the framework of digital agenda for Europe," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(9), pages 682-699.
    9. Chiha, Asma & Van der Wee, Marlies & Colle, Didier & Verbrugge, Sofie, 2020. "Techno-economic viability of integrating satellite communication in 4G networks to bridge the broadband digital divide," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(3).
    10. Quaglione, Davide & Matteucci, Nicola & Furia, Donatella & Marra, Alessandro & Pozzi, Cesare, 2020. "Are mobile and fixed broadband substitutes or complements? New empirical evidence from Italy and implications for the digital divide policies," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    11. Gerli, Paolo & Whalley, Jason, 2021. "Fibre to the countryside: A comparison of public and community initiatives tackling the rural digital divide in the UK," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(10).
    12. Ferrandis, Jesús & Ramos, Sergio & Feijóo, Claudio, 2021. "An assessment of estimation models and investment gaps for the deployment of high-speed broadband networks in NUTS3 regions to meet the objectives of the European Gigabit Society," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(7).
    13. Whitacre, Brian & Biedny, Christina, 2022. "A preview of the broadband fabric: Opportunities and issues for researchers and policymakers," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(3).
    14. Gerli, Paolo & Whalley, Jason, 2018. "Fibre to the countryside: A comparison of public and community initiatives in the UK," 29th European Regional ITS Conference, Trento 2018 184941, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
    15. Zhang, Qian & Webster, Natasha A. & Han, Shengnan & Ayele, Workneh Yilma, 2023. "Contextualizing the rural in digital studies: A computational literature review of rural-digital relations," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    16. Gerli, Paolo & Whalley, Jason, 2016. "Infrastructure investment on the margins of the market: The role of niche infrastructure providers in the UK," 27th European Regional ITS Conference, Cambridge (UK) 2016 148671, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
    17. Schmit, Todd M. & Severson, Roberta M., 2021. "Exploring the feasibility of rural broadband cooperatives in the United States: The new New Deal?," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(4).
    18. Ferrandis, Jesús & Feijóo, Claudio & Ramos, Sergio, 2020. "The investment gap for the deployment of high-speed broadband in NUTS3 regions," ITS Conference, Online Event 2020 224854, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
    19. Gerli, Paolo & Wainwright, David & Whalley, Jason, 2017. "Infrastructure investment on the margins of the market: The role of niche infrastructure providers in the UK," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(9), pages 743-756.
    20. Kubata, K. & Šimek, P., 2016. "Identification of Business Informatics Specifics in Agricultural Enterprises," AGRIS on-line Papers in Economics and Informatics, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Economics and Management, vol. 8(3), pages 1-8, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Techno-economic; NPV; LTE; G.fast; FWA; FTTdp; FTTx; digital agenda; subsidization; NGA; Broadband;
    All these keywords.

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:zbw:itse18:184946. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.itseurope.org/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.