2022.01.14 – Open Broadband News

Hear, hear! Calls to update Pakistan’s fixed broadband infrastructure

Pakistan’s digital potential will be unrealized as Pakistan’s fixed broadband network is grossly inadequate in servicing the rising internet demands of the country according to Tabadlab’s latest working paper titled — “The Fixed Broadband Challenge: Building the Runway for Pakistan’s Economic Take-Off.”

The paper finds that Pakistan’s policy and regulatory space is not equipped to meet the country’s increasing Internet needs. It says that the existing service providers were investing around $100 to $150 million per annum on fixed broadband, but it is inadequate to meet the upcoming demand.

“If Pakistan does not upgrade its fixed broadband infrastructure to a high-speed fiber optic network, Pakistan’s digital potential will continue to be under-realized,” the paper says.

At present, the average monthly data demand stands at 8 to 10 gigabytes per user which will need support from a robust fiber optic backbone, while there are less than 250,000 Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH) connections. The working paper says that countries like Malaysia, Bangladesh and Vietnam have done well to expand their infrastructure and services, and Pakistan needs to learn from them.

You shall not pass! Report warns of UK rural towns being digitally excluded

The latest State of Rural Services report, from Rural England CIC, has warned that many people in UK’s small towns and villages still face being “digitally excluded and locked out of key services” due to an “underinvestment in rural connectivity” (e.g. broadband and mobile infrastructure) and skills.

The report finds that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of “digital-first lifestyles” across England’s rural areas and quickened the move away from in-person activity (e.g. more people are working from home), with 53% of rural residents expecting to make less use of town centres after the pandemic than they did before. The catch is that broadband and mobile connectivity typically improves at a much slower pace in rural vs urban areas. According to the report, one in six rural residents cannot access “superfast broadband” (30Mbps+) and over half cannot get an indoor 4G mobile connection.

“These findings suggest that the pandemic may have left people living in rural England facing a Catch-22 situation. The growing appetite for online services is no bad thing, but it will have significant consequences for those rural residents facing digital exclusion due to lack of online skills and connectivity,” said Rural England CIC Chairman and report author Brian Wilson. “Rural areas, which already face disadvantage, need to be supported to ensure that businesses and communities can thrive and are not left behind as the nation builds back following the pandemic. With the upcoming levelling up programs, it is vital that public policies and programs are rural proofed.”

Money, money, money! American Rescue Plan Act offers support to broadband projects

The U.S. Treasury Department has revised its rules specifying how states can use federal funding provided by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), enabling a broader range of broadband projects to receive support. The agency originally specified that funding could only be used to provide coverage to un- and underserved locations which lack access to a wireline connection offering speeds of 25 Mbps downstream and 3 Mbps upstream.

Its preliminary rules, which were issued in May 2021, also encouraged states to prioritize fiber projects, the inclusion of affordable service options and support for local networks owned and operated by local governments, non-profits and cooperatives. A set of final rules issued late last week includes two key changes: one provides more flexibility in what areas are eligible for support and the other is designed to ensure consumers can actually afford to use the broadband networks built with ARPA funding.

During a public comment period, stakeholders argued the original 25/3 Mbps service standard was too restrictive and said states should be allowed to fund projects in areas which are technically served but require investment to address issues around broadband quality, reliability and affordability.

Perfeito! Brazilian telecoms market continues to grow

The Brazilian telecoms market surpassed 338 million subscriptions in fixed and mobile telephony, fixed broadband, and pay-TV in November, according to regulator Anatel. That was a growth of roughly 1 million accesses compared to October and about 25 million during the previous 12 months.

Some of the services that have pushed the overall industry figures up – particularly fixed broadband – began to show signs of slower growth or even decline in the last few months of 2021. It is too early to ascertain whether this is a seasonal effect, a limited accommodation of the market or actually a reversal of the trend, possibly prompted by a worsening macroeconomic environment in the country.

After sustained growth in the first half of last year, Brazil’s fixed broadband market saw a decline in the last few months of 2021. The country reported 40 million connections at the end of November, down slightly from 40.5million in October, although it was a sizable increase from the 36.2 million reported in November 2020. In terms of technologies, fiber optic connections totaled 24.4 million (accounting for 61.1% of total fixed broadband accesses), coaxial cable accounted for 23% of November accesses, and copper cable for 11%.

In with the new! Germany’s new Government plans on network expansion

Barely two months after the 26 September elections for the German Bundestag (Germany’s parliament), Germany has a new government led by the new Chancellor, Olaf Scholz of the Social Democratic Party (SPD).

For the first time in German history, this new government has been formed by a coalition of three parties: the SPD, the Greens and the Free Democratic Party (FDP). Each party brings different perspectives, so they naturally had different plans on how to achieve network expansion and accelerate Internet speed across Germany before the elections. A ‘self-economic network expansion’ (i.e. without public funding) has been prioritized. However, as previous experience has shown this is not economical in certain rural regions, so the parties intend to fund a fiber expansion.

To enhance the fiber network rollout, the parties have agreed on streamlined digital application and approval procedures. They plan to standardize alternative installation technologies and develop a nationwide gigabit land register in which all state and private institutions must register their network infrastructure in order to obtain a transparent overview of the areas that are underserved with broadband.