BROADBAND COMMUNITIES is the leading source of information on digital and broadband technologies for buildings and communities. Our editorial aims to accelerate the deployment of Fiber-To-The-Home and Fiber-To-The-Premises.
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18 | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com | MARCH/APRIL 2014 INDUSTRY ANALYSIS Broadband 2020: Achieving Ubiquity Broadband is an essential ingredient in the transformation from an industrial economy to something new, different and promising. By Rouzbeh Yassini, Ph.D. / University of New Hampshire Broadband Center of Excellence I nnovative broadband applications and creative ways to implement them represent a positive force that has the potential to pull the broadband ecosystem toward a gigabit environment that supports the vision of a robust information age. Tis age is one in which individuals and organizations are presented with profound new capabilities for civic, social and economic participation. Broadband networks, services and applications have become critical components of economic and social infrastructure, enabling new possibilities in the ways individuals and organizations interact in areas of commerce, governance and personal services. A consensus has emerged across the globe that broadband – the receipt and delivery of information over the Internet at high speeds – is an essential tool for accomplishing tasks that contribute positively to economic activity and social welfare. In this context, affordable broadband access has come to be viewed as nothing short of a 21st-century human right. A full realization of these benefits depends on overcoming obstacles that threaten to limit broadband's impact and benefit. • Availability – What percentage of people, residences and businesses have access to a broadband service in a given area? • Adoption – What percentage of these potential users are actually connected to an available broadband service? • Affordability – In a given area of coverage, how comfortably can an individual or a family with average income pay for available broadband services? • Performance – What is the bandwidth (bit rate) of the broadband service to and from end users? • Utilization – Of the available bandwidth, what percentage actually is utilized? • Ease of use – How easy and intuitive is it to make use of broadband connectivity and applications? • Services – What applications are available that may compel usage and drive improved network performance? Similar to electrical networks a century ago, broadband is a vital enabler of technology innovation. From entertainment, communication, social relationships and emergency response to health care, energy management, business and family interaction, broadband – coupled with software that takes advantage of broadband's capabilities – provides an essential platform for a connected society. Broadband is the enabling agent that unleashes the power of the Internet by supporting a wide range of services and applications that were not possible with slower-performing IP networks. A full realization of broadband's potential can produce ready and convenient access to a vast array of health care, community, automation, government and educational services to billions of people, accelerating the movement BBC_Mar14.indd 18 3/14/14 2:45 PM