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11/20/2012
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Connecting your Nonprofit in the Digital Age
Jesse Ward
Manager, Industry & Policy
Analysis
December 6, 2012
NTCA• NTCA represents 570 small and rural
telecommunications cooperatives and locally‐owned companies.
• NTCA’s members create, maintain, and evolve “future‐proof” fiber broadband networks.
• NTCA’s members serve more than 40% of the nation's land mass—but less than 5% of the nation's telephone subscribers. They provide services in the most sparsely populated, highest‐cost rural areas.
• NTCA members have a vested interest in their communities.
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Agenda
• What is Broadband?
• Importance to Residential Customers
• Connectivity Options
• Challenges to Rural Broadband Deployment
• What Can Rural Housing Providers Do?
What is Broadband?
The ability to transfer large amounts of information (data) over telecommunications networks very quickly.• Wired networks
• Wireless networks
But not all networks are
created equal.
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Broadband Drivers
• Education & Job Training
• Health Care
• Safety
• Efficient Utility Use
• Locally‐based national and global commerce
• Government Services
Access Network, a.k.a. “Local Loop” or “Last Mile” Network
Connects local businesses & local residences with Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
Local Loop
ISP’s Central Office (CO)
Backbone Network
Middle‐mile Network
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• Wired– Copper Wires (DSL)
– Hybrid Fiber Coax (cable company networks)
– Fiber Optics
• Wireless– Fixed Wireless Broadband (point‐to‐multi‐point network)
– Mobile Networks (cell phone/smartphone)
– Satellite (direct broadcast satellite (DBS))
Last‐Mile (a.k.a. Local Loop) Broadband Access Technologies
Fixed & Mobile Wireless Technology
Throughput (bandwidth) is dependant upon:
– User’s distance from the tower
– Number of users sharing the connection point and available bandwidth
– Frequency of spectrum
–Obstacles to line‐of‐sight transmission paths
– Environmental conditions
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Quality Determined by Four Metrics
• The connection’s speed (size of the “pipe”)
• The connection’s latency (delay)
• The connections jitter (variation in packet delay)
• Service reliability
Broadband Access Speeds and Applications
Upstream & Downstream Speeds
Applications
500 Kbps–1 Mbps Voice over IP, texting, basic email and Web browsing
1 Mbps–5 Mbps Complex web browsing, streaming music, file sharing, standard definition (SD) video streaming
5 Mbps–10 Mbps Telecommuting, remote education apps, medical file sharing, SD video streaming with multiple channels,SD video downloads
10 Mbps–100 Mbps SD and HD video streaming such as surveillance, real‐time interactive gaming
100 Mbps–1 Gbps Telemedicine, multiple educational services
1 Gbps–10 Gbps Research applications, telemedicine applications with real‐time remote control of scientific/medicalinstruments, HD video streaming
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Network Access Architectures and SpeedsNetworkArchitecture
Typical Access Speeds
DSL over copper twisted pair
Speeds dependant upon distance from ISPs Central Office and DSL technology. Realistic max of 50 Mbps over short loops/distances, up to 3,000 feet. Typical real‐worldspeeds of 1 Mbps ‐28 Mbps. Generally more downstream bandwidth, but moving to symmetric deployments.
Satellite Bandwidth is shared; speeds dependent upon number of subscribers. Improvements in past year. Advertised as up to 12 Mbps‐15 Mbps downstream, 1 Mbps‐3 Mbps upstream. Historical issues with latency, obstacles and interference.
Cellular and Fixed Wireless
Bandwidth is shared; speeds dependent upon number of subscribers. 4G LTE advertised as up to 5 Mbps‐12 Mbps downstream, 2 Mbps‐5 Mbps upstream.
Fiber “Future proof” technology with greatest capacity. 75 Mbps ‐ 100 Mbps upstream and downstream, or more; Technology is quickly advancing
Broadband Network Cost Components
• Outside plant costs
• Land & rights‐of‐way costs
• Skilled labor costs
• Spectrum licensing costs (wireless network)
• Electronics
• Middle‐mile transport costs
• Interconnection with backbone providers
• Customer premises equipment (CPE)
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Rural Broadband Deployment Challenges
• Greater network expense and less revenue in rural America.
• Longer loop lengths lead to higher network costs.
• Very few customers over which to spread the infrastructure costs.
• Customers also reside more distantly spaced from one another.
• Terrain can be challenging.
Funding for Rural Broadband Networks
• Funded through:
– End‐user fees
– Private investment
– State and federal government‐administered programs
• State and federal cost recovery programs in flux
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What Can You Do?
• Advocate for rural broadband with your local officials.
• When constructing a greenfieldhousing site, install wired infrastructure – “dig once.”
• Talk with your local broadband providers about your connectivity options.
Contact Information
Jesse Ward
Manager, Industry & Policy Analysis
703‐351‐2007
