تجزیه و تحلیل تقسیم پهنای باند شهری / روستایی در کانادا : استفاده از GIS در برنامه ریزی استقرار بی سیم زمینی

Millions of Canadians residing in Canada's northern, isolated, rural, and remote communities do not have broadband Internet access. This situation has led to a national “broadband divide.” That is, the deployment of wireline broadband is very limited in Canada's northern, isolated, rural, and remote areas because of the significant expense of installation and maintenance of the wired infrastructure needed to reach dwellings in these locations. Terrestrial broadband wireless technology, on the other hand, does not entail the same kind of physical infrastructure. As a result, there are dramatic changes in how spatial considerations affect the provision of broadband Internet services (BIS) to areas beyond the urban zone. In particular, the spatial question is now focused on assessing the capacity for different technological solutions to reach profitable population bases, and brings to the forefront organizations that are developing non-line-of-sight (NLOS) technologies that would permit wireless Internet access over much greater distances than current solutions. We begin this paper by establishing the importance of broadband connectivity to Canada's northern, isolated, rural, and remote communities. This discussion comments on the role of the Government of Canada in the provision of broadband connectivity to residents of these communities, and outlines the current regulatory issues that govern wireless services and policy formulation. The second part of the paper illustrates the use of geographic information system (GIS) approaches in the study of wireless broadband planning and deployment. Case study findings suggest that GIS applications can make a significant contribution to the analysis of wireless deployment planning, to the understanding of the relationships between wireless signal sources and consumers, and to the spatial configuration of terrestrial wireless broadband networks. We conclude the paper by discussing how the GIS approach employed could be used to inform the public policy process with regard to increasing access to broadband Internet services in all regions of the country, and thereby providing the opportunity for all Canadians, regardless of location, to fully participate in the Information Society.

We begin this paper by briefly describing broadband and related technologies for the purpose of context. We then define Canada's urban/rural broadband divide and distinguish this concern from issues involving the digital divide. Next, we establish the importance of broadband connectivity to Canada's northern, isolated, rural, and remote communities. This part of the paper considers the role of the Government of Canada in the provision of broadband connectivity to residents of these communities and outlines some of the current regulatory issues affecting wireless services and policy formulation. The second part of the paper discusses the use of geographic information systems (GIS) methods and technologies in terrestrial broadband wireless Internet service planning and deployment. To illustrate our argument, the results of a preliminary, GIS-based study of the potential market that could be served by connecting Canada's northern, isolated, rural, and remote communities to terrestrial broadband wireless technology are presented. We conclude the paper by exploring several policy issues and options arising from our investigation.

We began this paper by establishing the importance of broadband connectivity to residents, businesses, institutions, and other entities in Canada's northern, isolated, rural, and remote communities. That part of the presentation includes a commentary on the role of the Government of Canada in providing broadband connectivity to residents of these rural communities, and outline of the current regulatory issues that govern wireless services and shape the policy formation and program implementation processes. In the second part of the paper, we discuss why and how to use a geographic information system (GIS) approach in studies involving broadband Internet service analysis, planning, and deployment. Our GIS-based analysis permits rapid assessment of terrestrial broadband wireless markets in northern, isolated, rural, and remote regions with minimal data requirements. Initial results indicate that a large proportion of Canada's rural communities located beyond the urban zone could potentially be served by wireless systems operating with current WIMAX specifications. We believe that these results are of direct political, social, and economic consequence to millions of Canadians in northern, remote, and isolated regions of the country who at present do not have access to broadband Internet service. In addition, and very importantly, we believe that the results and the research underlying their derivation provide evidence and direction for the Government of Canada to consider in its deliberations over how it can best proceed in order to achieve the national objective of all Canadians having full and equitable access to broadband Internet service.