Research by Northumbria University on methods to tackle the rural
digital divide involving local communities in Cumbria has been showcased in
front of an international audience of communication policy makers.
Lecturer Paolo Gerli and Professor Jason Whalley based at Northumbria
University’s Newcastle Business School, were recently in Washington DC to present
their research at the prestigious 46th TPRC Research Conference on
Communication, Information and Internet Policy.
Based on two examples of rural broadband connectivity schemes operating
in the North West of England, their research demonstrates how adopting more innovative
business models could successfully bring superfast broadband to some of the
world’s most isolated communities.
Titled ‘Fibre to the Countryside: A Comparison of Public and Community
Initiatives in the UK’, the study explores how community-led and public
initiatives can successfully contribute to promoting the diffusion of superfast
broadband by analysing two projects delivering fibre networks in Cumbria.
One is a cooperative fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network financed and
built by local residents. Each community has to aggregate demand and collect
enough funding to cover 100% of the premises in the parish. The fibre is then
laid by volunteers and landowners are required to consent to free wayleaves.
The second is a public-private partnership between British Telecom and
Cumbria County Council, which is one of several projects funded by Broadband
Delivery UK (BDUK) to install fibre broadband in areas excluded from commercial
deployments.
Paolo Gerli explains: “Our research studied both approaches and
demonstrates how the pioneering business models used in Cumbria can contribute
to bringing superfast broadband to very remote communities which have been
struggling with poor connectivity for two decades”.
“Whilst the rural digital divide remains an unsolved issue across
developed and developing countries, by analysing the interplay between
community-led initiatives and public-private partnerships, this research
provides useful recommendations for policymakers and practitioners committed to
providing everyone with fast connectivity and dealing with the roll-out of
rural broadband.”
The TPRC Research Conference on Communications, Information and
Internet Policy is an annual event which brings together a diverse range of international
researchers from academia, industry, government, and non-profit organisations.
The aim is to work together with policy makers and the private sector
to share current thinking and challenge ideas on legal, economic, social, and
technical research affecting all aspects of national and international policy
on communications, information, and the Internet.
Paolo adds: “Presenting at the conference was a fantastic opportunity
for us to discuss our research with academics and practitioners from all over
the world. It also provided a global platform to showcase innovative rural
broadband initiatives, which have been developed in the North of England to
address what is, in fact, a world-wide problem.”
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