Broadband in Reus and the Baix Camp county: the city of the future

The digital era led us to something called The Broadband Society where we live in nowadays. The two main axes of this concept are universalization and the guarantee of the service, as stated by the Council of the European Union in the eEurope project (2002), in order to “make Europe the most competitive and dynamic economy in the world”. We analyze in this scenario Reus and Baix Camp cases, in collaboration with Sergi Peralta Moreno, from UPF.

However, there are a couple of professional areas where the Broadband Society has become even more than reality: it has become part of their backbone. The information and communication technologies are one of the fundamentals of the knowledge society in the XXI century. According to the European Commission, ITC is responsible for a substantial rise in productivity in all economic sectors. The Internet is fostering economic and social developments in the First World. Rafael Díez Vega states that “broadband networks are having an impact as revolutionary as electricity or railways had in the past”.

Broadband in a local atmosphere: the case of Granollers

Broadband is a growing issue in today’s society. It is relevant talking in all levels of life and society. It is important in terms of Welfare State, with e-health and e-learning, in the Public Administrative Sector and in E-Business. Every communication, every search, every activity embraces the Broadband Society, and furthermore, an amount of good guaranteed broadband, which means access everywhere at any time. 

It is related with the concept “always one”, which means 24/7 connectivity. If every activity needs broadband, the paper of this “new” concept englobes either general relationships and specific ones. Municipal activity is as important as general activities of the country. In this article, in collaboration with Maria Rovira, from UPF, we will focus in the case of Vallès Oriental, writing about Granollers.

Broadband South Korea: a pioneer 5G

Broadband Society is evolving. On April 3, 2019, South Korea commercialized 5G for the first time in the world. This was the gateway to the 5G era, and it was a monument to Korea’s success in preempting the title of ‘world’s first commercialization of 5G’ among the big countries like China and the United States. 

With its fast-paced commercialization of 5G, a key mobile factor in the Broadband Society, Korea has dominated the world's largest 5G subscriber base among the giant countries. Thirty years ago, it was inconceivable that Korea would take the top spot against the United States and China. How was Korea able to achieve rapid growth in IT industry? We analyze it with Min Kyung Kim, from UPF.