Draft:Accessible broadband

Reliable and fast broadband is a growing requirement for access to advanced services, including video calls, online teaching, and healthcare advice. Therefore, the inequality of access to this service can be considered a growing aspect of the digital divide.

Importance of broadband access

Healthcare

Online healthcare platforms have existed for years in may countries: US in the 1990s,. Japan in 2008, and China in 2014. However, they have seen an enormous increase in popularity in the wake of the 2019 coronavirus pandemic. For example the French telemedicine platform "Doctolib" saw on average 1,000 uses a day before the pandemic hit, but between early March and early April in 2020, the platform saw 800,000 uses. The initial benefit of such platforms was because it allowed access to medical care even when any sort of in-person interaction was being restricted during the peak period of the pandemic. In addition, online health services can be beneficial for those that are elderly or infirm and struggle to leave their home. Unfortunately, these platforms are not accessible to everyone as they require access to technology such as an internet device, a webcam, and stable internet connection with good enough speed for video calls

Education

Access to broadband has become increasingly important for education. Services such as digital classrooms and online diplomas have become more common since the 2019 coronavirus pandemic and those people with fast reliable broadband are far better placed to take advantage of the growing opportunities of online education services.. Inequality in access to education also has long lasting impacts on a persons life. Reduced or lack of access to broadband services at home, hence reduced access to online education can have an impact on future jobs and careers opportunities

Employability and business

Many features of routine business and employment now rely on high speed reliable internet access through broadband service to the extent that those without access can feel like "second-class citizens". This includes aspects of the application process such as submitting CV's or video interviews, in addition to typical business operations like conference calls and emails. While library or public access computers may resolve some of these inequalities, attending video meetings from a communal space is not desirable. Overall, greater access to broadband has been linked to increased employment rates and higher paid jobs, however, it has not been proven if these outcomes are the direct result of greater broadband access.

Definition of accessible broadband

Providing the capacity to utilise broadband services without restraint, regardless of wealth, socioeconomic background, experience, or location.

Obstacles

Cost

Broadband is associated with considerable costs for both the user and the provider which can make it inaccessible to many people around the world.

Cost of devices and plans

A considerable obstacle in the way of expanding accessible broadband is the costs that are associated with owning a device and having a broadband plan. Broadband cannot expand into new regions if no one has internet capable devices to make it worthwhile but such devices are a luxury and need considerable disposable income to afford.. Only 78% of the global population owns a mobile phone, the easiest way of accessing the internet. This includes 95% of people in high income nations but only 48% in low income nations showing how limiting device ownership can be to broadband access. In addition to the cost of the device, the broadband plans used to access internet services can also be considerable preventing many people from buying them. The United Nations Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development affordability target is that broadband costs should amount to no more than 2% of the nation income per capita. In high income countries this is being met (0.4%), however in lower income nations it can be as high as 8.6% for 2G and up to 31.3% for 5G (1% for 5G in high income countries). Such high proportions of income are out of reach for a large proportion of people both in lower income nations and in lower income neighbourhoods even in high income nations

Cost of infrastructure

Expanding broadband networks has a significant upfront cost for the network operator of laying cables.. This is especially prominent in areas of low population density where the costs are very high of laying a large network of cabling but the return payoff is low due to the low population in the areas to pay for the service. One estimate suggested that the cost of connected every person on Earth to broadband of 4G with a speed of 40-50 GB/month and 95% reliability would cost $418 billion US$. This would make up only 0.45% of the global gross domestic product but is 2.3 times the annual expenditure capacity of mobile network operators (based of data from 2022 to 2023 suggesting that the annual expenditure is $187.5 billion). This investment is primarily required in the emerging economies ($305 billion), then the low income developing nations ($102 billion), while only a small percentage is required in high income nations ($11 billion)

Monopolies

Both high income and low income nations can struggle with broadband companies holding monopolies over large areas.. This is an issue for accessibility as with no competition and no price cap there is nothing stopping broadband costs from increasingly, limiting accessibility for lower income communities. The high starting cost of laying cabling to build a network keeps rivals out of monopoly areas and telecommunications companies may pay millions to lobby against laws that would force them to share their already in place networks with rivals

Taxes

Another obstacle for wide-spread accessible broadband are broadband taxes; either on the consumers and the network companies. These taxes can hold back broadband expansion by increasing the cost of use further while even more damaging can be taxes on the network providers.. Increasing the cost of operating in the country will make it less attractive to prospective broadband providers already faced with a high upfront cost of building the infrastructure. Governments especially in low-income countries may implement these taxes as revenue generating schemes but in the long run they may stunt economic growth by holding back digital development

Network penetration

Cost is not the only barrier in the way of global broadband access equality. Even people who may be able to afford to pay for broadband may not have access to the high speeds required to partake equally in the advantages offered by the internet.

Urban and rural

The most significant access divide based of network penetration is between the urban and rural populations.. This is the case even in high income nations. For example, it was found that download times were considerably faster in cities in England than in villages and rural areas due to the disparity in line length (the distance between the broadband device and the nearest telecommunications mast). This can be explained by the simple fact that urban areas are geographically smaller than rural areas with considerably higher population density. Hence anyone using the internet in a city is more likely to be closer to a mast than someone in a rural environment. Slower broadband speed in rural areas is another impact of the cost of infrastructure and network company monopolies since there is a greater cost to provide high speed internet access to people in rural areas but the income afterwards would be lower due to the low rural population densities

High income nations and low income nations

The high cost of infrastructure also leads to a divide between the network penetration and speed of high income nations compared to low income nations. 40% of the worlds surface is covered by 5G.. This is made of 68% of Europe, 59% of the Americas, 42% of Asia, and 6% of Africa. 39% of people living in low income nations do not have access to to 4G and 16% of Africa (mostly in the central and western regions) is not covered by any broadband network

Policy

The final barrier preventing broadband access is government policy. Authoritarian or isolationist societies may impose policies or firewalls to block access to internet services. These can either directly prevent access to broadband or indirectly discourage its use by sequestering content.

Solutions

Removing monopolies

Removing broadband monopolies may be an effective way to make broadband accessible to more people globally. This can be done by reducing taxes on network providers, putting in policies that benefit new start-ups, and allowing companies to make use of the infrastructure already in place to overcome the first major hurdle.. The idea of all these schemes is to attract new network companies in and to build up local ones to provide customer choice to drive down prices making broadband more accessible to lower income communities

Lower broadband use tax

Another scheme that governments wanting to increase broadband access in lower income communities can do is to reduce the tax on broadband access.. An estimate suggested that reducing the broadband taxes in Mexico, Malaysia, and Brazil by 1% point each would add another 1,080,000 to 2,180,000 broadband subscriptions. Many of them in Brazil which has a tax rate of 43.3% , one of the highest broadband tax rates in the world

Inventive solutions

Several inventive solutions have been posed by large tech companies such as google. These include using balloons, drones, or satellites to provide broadband access to remote locations more cost effectively than laying cables.. Balloon based systems may be high altitude (17-22 Km), medium altitude (5 Km), or low altitude 200-440 m). The advantages of balloons is that they are easily installed and could provide fast broadband connection to a large remote area at a significantly lower cost that installing cables and masts but with lower propagation delay than satellite linked broadband