Fast broadband for Scotland

Digitization and connectivity are improving following the Broadband Society axioms.The digital future of Scotland, analyzed in collaboration with Beattie Megan Merino, is being entirely reinvented at present with the introduction of a new program to make fast internet connection accessible in all parts of the country. 

Scotland, with its rural landscapes and scattered small towns, is one of the most challenging countries in Europe to install fast and effective broadband but the government have made it very clear that they highly prioritise the continuous advancement of technology and see it as an integral part of the countries’ evolution and economic growth. 

Broadband in the USA: a long evolution

In the current society, the Internet is something the human population uses daily for information, entertainment, direction, and much more. But there was a time when internet was still premature; in fact, there was a time from which internet had to be born. This essay, in collaboration with Kristen Hinderliter, will explore the history and growth of broadband connections and internet in the United States of America. 

In 1957, the Advanced Research Projects Agency, also known as ARPA, was created by the United States’ Department of Defense in response to the Soviet Union’s recent Sputnik launch. The idea was that the Soviet Union was getting too far ahead in technological and research advancement; the Advanced Research Projects Agency was the United States government’s way of getting back into the competition. ARPA along with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA, was supposed to recreate technical supremacy in the United States of America.

Broadband and journalism in Turkey

Journalism and telecommunications have a marriage to foster Broadband Society. Turkey (case analyzed in collaboration with Israa Groof) has been recognized as a center of commerce as its land connects to the continents of Europe, Asia and Africa. This geographical location, being the mainland of Anatolia, holds an extraordinary geo-strategic value. 

Rapid expansion of communications, software and hardware segments of ICT industries in Turkey have made a significant investment in upgrading mobile networks to broadband. Broadband is a type of data transmission in which a single medium can carry several channels at once. 

Denmark and the daily broadband

Broadband is an essential part of the daily life in Denmark. We analyze it in collaboration with Maja Jensen. All information is being sent out via emails and Danish citizens use their social security number to log in on a webpage called Borger.dk (English: Citizen.dk) and registrar when they move apply for an education or economic support. Everybody receive and get access to their private documents via the internet. Everything is online, which makes it necessary for every citizen in Denmark to be able to access the Internet. A yearly report from Danmarks Statistik (English: Denmark’s Statistics) on the Danish population’s use of internet shows that 92% of the Danish population above the age of 16 had access to the Internet in 2015 and 87% of the population used the Internet every single day. 

The Internet Service Provider (ISP) companies in Denmark that provide internet are: TDC erhverv, Yousee, Telenor, Stofa, Telia, Waoo and 3. Many of these companies own sub companies which also provide people with broadband and mobile broadband. These companies offer four different kinds of broadband connections, which we will explain in detail later. Since almost everybody in Denmark needs and uses internet connection, the internet connections are often fast and reliable. For around 30-35 Euros a month, the costumer will be able to get a broadband connection with 20 Mbps, which will cover most people’s needs.

El Maresme prioritza la banda ampla

La tecnologia i les telecomunicacions evolucionen contínuament en plena Societat de Banda Ampla. En qüestió de pocs mesos, els avenços en aquest camp són totalment innovadors. La banda ampla n’és un bon exemple. I Catalunya, especialment les comarques de Barcelona, una bona mostra, que analitzarem amb la col·laboració de la Carla Riverola Brutau i Clara Pàmies Codina (amb fotografies d'Òscar Pallarès i la Revista Alella), posant èmfasi en el cas del Maresme i d'Alella. 

La tecnologia de telecomunicacions FTTH, que permet fer arribar el Triple Play (telefonia, internet de banda ampla i televisió) a les cases a través de la fibra òptica, és ja una realitat a moltes llars. Segons els informes del Ministeri d’Industria, Energia i Turisme, l’any 2016 hi havia més de 1.835.984 llars amb un rang de cobertura de FTTH entre 90 i 100, una xifra que suposa fer arribar la banda ampla de qualitat a més de 4,7 milions de persones. 

Broadband in Russia: a question of diversification

Broadband Society is everywhere. We are analyzing broadband deployment in countries, and in this post we study, in collaboration with Diana Samarcheva, the case of Russia. It is well known that broadband has a great influence on the social and economic development of the country. There are a lot of examples proving the force of innovative technologies on the country’s economic position so the modernization of broadband is one of the main strategic goals named by the government in Russia.

Fixed Broadband Penetration (number of subscriptions per 100 inhabitants) in the regions of Russia and in other counties, 2013

 

Source: ITU, 2013; Ministry of Telecommunications and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation

In 2009 Russian president announced that the country should diversify its economics on the base of new technologies and innovations. In order to reach the highest worldwide standards Russia established rather ambitious targets of broadband technologies taking into consideration the geographic dimensions and low population density. In accordance with the modernization policy, the Ministry of Communications and Mass Media announced national broadband targets in 2012 to make 100 Mbps broadband available to 80 percent of Russian residents by 2018, with the ultimate goal to provide conditions – physically and financially – for affordable broadband access for all residents of Russia (according to the study).

El papel de la banda ancha en el sistema universitario catalán (2)

La Universidad necesita la banda ancha como el aire que respira. Continuamos con el análisis iniciado en el post anterior, con la colaboración del Observatorio de la Comunicación Científica de la UPF, Sergio Segura Guerrero y Valentina Raffio. La expansión de la banda ancha ha cambiado rotundamente el modo de trabajo los procedimientos en las universidades. Estos cambios resultan ventajosos en tanto que mejoran la colaboración entre instituciones y también entre docentes y alumnos.

Así pues, la conexión virtual y su desarrollo en los últimos años han supuesto una herramienta de progreso, con unas mejoras impulsadas en parte por las instituciones. En un estudio llevado a cabo por la Universidad Oberta de Catalunya y la Generalitat, se concluye que aunque la necesidad de ancho de banda universal se encuentra en todos los sectores, destaca de especial manera la necesidad del  sistema educativo. Tanto la institución universitaria como la administración pública, el personal docente y el alumnado exigen un servicio universal de telecomunicaciones y una conexión de alta velocidad, que se consiguen mediante el contrato de un ancho de banda determinado. Se calcula que hoy en día existen 26 centros universitarios catalanes públicos y privados sin ánimo de lucro adheridos a la iniciativa del Anillo Científico.

El papel de la banda ancha en el sistema universitario catalán (1)

La sociedad de la Banda Ancha articula su aplicación en dos ejes estratégicos: el Estado del Bienestar (e-learning, e-health) y los negocios virtuales (e-commerce, e-banking). Para que la educación, en pleno desarrollo de herramientas digitales y del blended learning, funcione, es necesario dotar a los centros educativos de banda ancha generosa. Eso es lo que intenta Cataluña con las universidades, y analizamos con la colaboración del Observatorio de la Comunicación Científica de la Universitat Pompeu Fabra, con Valentina Raffio y Sergio Segura, en dos posts. Esta es la primera entrega.

Cataluña se sitúa en primer lugar en cuanto a comunidad autónoma con número de universidades repartidas por el territorio. En total, son 164 los centros propios de la comunidad o bien adscritos a ella. Entre los 114 centros públicos destacan algunas de las universidades más valoradas a nivel internacional. Según apunta U-Ranking, las tres mejores universidades del estado español son la Pompeu Fabra, la Autónoma de Barcelona y la Politécnica de Cataluña. La calidad de los centros educativos de estudios superiores catalanes es fundamental en tanto que son cada vez más los jóvenes que deciden optar por continuar sus estudios. En términos totales, se calcula que el 31% de los catalanes se matriculan para cursar estudios universitarios. En el curso 2015/2016 se llegaron hasta los 194.451 inscritos. Estas cifras tan solo representan una pequeña muestra de la importancia que tienen las universidades catalanas para el territorio. Y en este contexto, la ciudad de Barcelona se sitúa como centro neurálgico donde se gesta la relación entre estos centros educativos de referencia a nivel nacional e internacional con otras instituciones que contribuyen al desarrollo de la sociedad.

The UK, a broadband kingdom?

Broadband Society is evolving in the UK, one of the principal markets in the international framework. We analyse it in collaboration with Gerard Mulvihill. We can still recall the days prior to broadband when dial-up connection was the means by which we accessed the Internet. Dial-up speeds were pain staking slow and came with the added inconvenience of not being able to utilise ones landline whilst on the Internet.

The rolling out of broadband in 2000 saw the dial up connection being replaced by broadband which is termed by Ofcom.org.co.uk as “a way of connecting to the Internet that allows information to be carried at high speed to your personal computer, laptop, tablet, smartphone, smart TV or other web-enabled device”, changing the way we work, shop and play in an instant. It opened up a whole new world of streaming songs and movies and skyping loved ones abroad.

L'aposta de Catalunya per la banda ampla

Banda ampla i Catalunya són gairebé sinònims. L'evolució del desplegament de la infraestructura per antonomàsia i les accions empreses per adoptar i adaptar la tecnologia més adient a cada zona del país reflecteixen una aposta decidida. Amb la col·laboració de Natàlia Cuenca Domínguez, analitzem l'estat de la qüestió, que debatrem el 4 i el 5 d'abril a la UPF a les XXII Jornades del Cable i la Banda Ampla a Catalunya, que la Generalitat de Catalunya està difonent d'allò més.

¿Quina és l’actual situació de la banda ampla a Catalunya? El món de la tecnologia es desenvolupa i avança a passes de gegant. Allò que era vàlid i innovadors ahir avui ja està obsolet. Una mostra d’això la podem veure analitzant i comparant l’evolució de la situació de la banda ampla a Catalunya del 2015 amb la del passat any.