The Challenge of Rural Broadband

1
The Challenge of Rural Broadband

• Ed Cameron, PE
• Director, Advanced Services Division
• Rural Utilities Service - USDA

2
Todays Menu

• What is broadband?
• What infrastructures can deliver it?
• What are the Big Myths of broadband delivery?
• Which infrastructures offer promise for rural
  America?
• Snake oil

3
What is Broadband?

• A relative term
• First defined by Websters in 1956
• Definitions of note
• Not narrowband
• Big channel
• Current FCC data transmission at a rate at
  least 200 kilobits/sec bidirectionally

4
What is Broadband?

• Bellcores Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)
• Beware of confusing terms
• High Speed Access has no inherent meaning
• Speed vs. rate
• Speed is determined by speed of light in the
  medium
• 186,000 miles/second is the speed of light in a
  vacuum
• Rate is the quantity of data transferred in a set
  period of time
• 200 kilobits/second is the FCCs broadband rate

5
What Infrastructures Can Deliver Broadband?

• Wireline
• Terrestrial wireless
• Nonterrestrial wireless

6
About these Infrastructures

• Wireline
• Physically connects user to network with
  conductor
• Requires installation of conductor
• Adding another conductor increases the bandwidth
  of wirelines medium
• Economics depend on density and clustering of
  customers

7
Wireline - Cable Modem

• Conductors (and capacity) are shared among users
• Available to 56-60 of households
• Not generally available outside towns
• Many rural cable systems still cannot support
  bidirectional broadband

8
Wireline - Cable Modem

• Deployment 5.5 million growing at 7.7
• Typical urban price 40 if also a CATV
  subscriber, 50 if not

9
Wireline - Digital Subscriber Line - DSL

• Users on dedicated conductors
• Available to 94 of households
• Some rural customer loops too long to support DSL
  (customer copper loop must be 3 miles or less)
• A few rural exchanges cannot offer it because of
  inadequate network connections

10
Wireline - DSL

• National Telephone Cooperative Association
  reports 60 of its members customers can receive
  DSL now (NTCAs 500 members serve the nations
  most rural areas)
• Average NTCA member price for broadband is 69.66

11
Wireline - DSL

• Deployment 3.5 million, growing at 13.1
• Typical urban price 50
• Broadband Networking News predicts that DSL will
  overtake cable modem customers served in early
  2004
• Because users have dedicated conductor, DSL
  transport rate does not decline as customers are
  added - unlike cable modem

12
About these Infrastructures

• Terrestrial Wireless
• Connects user to earthbound transmitter/receiver
  using radio (electromagnetic) path
• Conductor is the shared electromagnetic
  spectrum
• Carrier must possess the right to use
• Theres only one EM spectrum - cant add another

13
Terrestrial Wireless - MMDS

• Multipoint Multichannel Distribution System
  (MMDS)
• Wireless CATV spectrum
• Sprint and Worldcom own most licenses
• 25 mile line-of-sight range (earth curve limit)
• Up to 25,000 customers per transmitter
• No service penetration yet

14
Terrestrial Wireless - LMDS

• Local Multipoint Distribution System
• Great diversity in spectrum ownership
• 3.5 mile range
• High capacity - many customers per transmitter
  site
• Sales mostly to business customers
• No significant residential penetration

15
Terrestrial Wireless - Northpoint

• Northpoint has asked FCC to allow reuse of DBS
  spectrum for data service
• Possible because DBS signals highly directional,
  always from southern sky
• Northpoint antennas north of cities would beam
  data services to uses
• Some rural areas would be incidentally covered

16
Terrestrial Wireless - Spread Spectrum

• Technology developed for military
• Communicates over many frequencies at once, very
  low power at each
• No FCC license needed due to low power
• Not long range, not high capacity
• Too many providers would raise noise floor and
  incapacitate each other

17
About these Infrastructures

• Nonterrestrial Wireless (satellite)
• Conductor is shared electromagnetic spectrum
• Provider must possess right to use
• Additional satellites can increase capacity
• Limited number of satellite slots
• Limited overall bandwidth capacity
• Very expensive, long lead time

18
Broadband Satellite

• Only a two-way satellite service is broadband
• Phone line uplink is obsolete, unpopular
• Geostationary (GEO) vs. Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
• Latency - 1/4 second per path delay
• User ping time is 1 second
• Needs different data protocols - big packets

19
Broadband Satellite

• StarBand
• Installation quotes 700 - 1245
• Monthly service 59.99 - 69.99
• Transport rate up to 10 times dial-up
• Or, about 500 Kbps down, 128 Kbps up
• Residential and small office use only
• Its beginning to sell in rural states

20
Broadband Satellite

• DirecWay
• Installation quoted at something over 700
• Monthly rate 70
• Dealer said his company has decided not to market
  this service after all
• Poor rain fade performance
• Fair access policy

21
Broadband Satellite

• Two other satellite carriers plan to be in
  service in 2003
• Wild Blue
• SpaceWay
• Monthly prices have been expected at 80 to 90

22
Broadband Satellite

• Satellite today has 188,000 customers in place -
  annual growth rate 0
• Neither StarBand nor DirecWay meet the FCCs
  definition of broadband
• The big problem for broadband satellite is the
  inability to increase capacity
• RUS has not been able to create a realistic
  successful business model

23
Big Myths

• Satellite is the answer!
• One fiber optic conductor has more capacity than
  all the satellites in orbit - George Gilder
• Long lead time to add capacity (to build and
  launch a satellite takes 3-6 years)
• A satellite service dedicated exclusive to rural
  users could be very valuable but no successful
  business plan seems possible

24
Another Myth

• Wireless is the answer!
• It doesnt even seem feasible yet in cities
• LMDS service footprint just about duplicates that
  of cable modem and DSL
• MMDS is low capacity and spectrum licenses are
  held by carriers not likely to build rural
• No licensed carrier has launched a successful
  service - most have announced delays

25
A Real Big Myth

• Cable modem is available to 97 of all
  households!
• CATV available to 97 of TV homes - true
• Less than 90 of homes are households
• About 71 of CATV homes can be served with cable
  modem
• RUS filed to FCC a demonstration that actual CATV
  availability is 81-85

26
What Offers Promise?

• Telephone DSL is most promising short term
• Rural telephone companies are deploying DSL-ready
  plant throughout service area with RUS loans
• With each rebuild fiber gets closer to the home
• MMDS licenses should be given to carriers who
  will serve rural customers now
• It will take a combination of technologies

27
Snake Oil

• Nielsen/NetRatings reports 21 Million U.S.
  Broadband Customers as of November
• 20 of 106 million Internet users had broadband
  access, up from 12 a year ago. Nielsen also
  reported 12.7 million broadband Internet users at
  home, up 94 from last year.

28
Snake Oil

• Whats wrong with these claims?
• Answer Definitions
• Customers are defined as all members of a
  household with a subscription to a broadband
  access who are over 2 years old
• Every data collector seems to have different
  definitions

29
RUS Website

• www.rurdev.usda.gov/rus/
• For our FCC filings, information on our Rural
  Broadband Loan and Grant Programs, and contact
  information