Analyst Angle: Rural connectivity hinges on software as much as access

Rural connectivity schemes typically focus on on overcoming last mile issues, oftentimes at the expense of figuring out answers to the myriad of other challenges related to backhaul, core, OSS/BSS

With 5G being seen as a way of enabling gigabit fixed wireless connectivity, there seems to be a renewed focus on how to connect the unconnected world. This is not only natural, but completely to be expected. It seems like almost every time a new broadband access concept gains widespread attention, its implications for rural connectivity are vetted.  Examples form the somewhat recent past include WiMAX, 802.22/WRAN, g.fast, just to name a few.

However, just as often as these new developments are born, their widespread applicability for solving rural connectivity challenges generally meet stiff headwinds. Some of the reasons for this seemingly unending conundrum are many, complex and include maintenance and operations as well as back office issues,in addition to the well heralded last mile concerns.

Its not just the last mile, but the many miles in between

Anyone that has paid attention to rural broadband issues knows quite well that the last mile connection, while fundamental, is only part of the rural connectivity conundrum. Backhaul is frequently cited as another issue that, for the most part, can be considered to go hand-in-glove with the last mile. However, issues that are much less discussed include:

• Maintenance and operations – just as the miles to travel for copper or fiber present a physical connectivity challenge, those same miles present maintenance and operations issues. At the most basic level, the drive out to location for routine maintenance and/or troubleshooting can be problematic at best.  At the same time, finding qualified personnel to perform maintenance and operations tasks in remote areas can be an even bigger challenge.
• Back office – similar to maintenance and operations, the ability to provision services at remote locations can serve as a material hindrance to providing efficient, if not effective broadband services to rural areas. To wit, if one of the main criticisms of telecom networks in a new IoT/Industry 4.0 world is the flexibility in which services can be set up, torn down, and/or reprovisioned in an urban environment, those challenges only become amplified in a rural setting.

The “5G” answer beyond new radio technologies

Even as most of the world still views 5G through the lens of radio technologies, there is a consistent reminder from most technology suppliers that 5G is about more than radio. In fact, it can be argued that without widespread application of network virtualization and/or cloud technology, there will be no 5G.  Along these lines, if virtualization and cloud has a big role to play in the future of dense urban networks, it also has a huge role to play in connecting the unconnected.

Referring back to the previous bullets on maintenance and operations, and back office:

• Maintenance and operations – creating centralized network operations that increasingly rely on software-based OA&M models should be a huge step forward in the ability to keep a rural broadband network up and running once the last mile has been deployed.  Not only can the advancements related to network automation dramatically reduce the number of times a truck (containing a qualified technician) has to traverse the miles to a remote office to solve major problems, it can also help make routine maintenance much easier and more cost effective to perform.
• Back office – even a few short years ago, the notion of cloud-based OSS and BSS functions was thought of as heresy. Circa 2018, moving  back office functions to the cloud is practically acknowledged as a prerequisite for a fully equipped 5G world.  In a rural setting, the ability to manage services from a centralized location will be key to enabling end-users in remote locations to enjoy a similar level of service agility as their counterparts in urban centers.

To be sure, rural connectivity is not a problem that will be easily solved. However, as 5G continues to gather momentum, many of the technologies that are being developed will have a role to play in both dense urban and rural deployment scenarios.  Similarly, just as 5G solutions for urban deployments will have to focus on much more than access networks, the key to finally solving the rural connectivity puzzle must also focus on much more than the last mile.