Can wireless technology alone blur the digital divide?

Internet for all has become indispensable need for today’s human race. We know that high capital expenditure and operational expenses has been a big NO for MNOs to facilitate the global mandate of universal connectivity. 5G wireless can enhance the wireless capacity, expand the geographical coverage and improve the internet reliability for remote or sparsely populated areas as well where infrastructure may not be available or expensive to deploy. However, wireless technology alone may not be able to leverage the connectivity in rural or sparsely populated areas and guarantee the global connectivity. New business models including integration of virtual infrastructure with the physical one, self-organizing networks, flying platforms and TV White Space etc are few emerging trends to address the global connectivity problems.

In this article, Yusuf Sambo, Muhammad Ali Imran, David Crawford, Robert Steward and Stephen Speirs present the UK rural connectivity challenges and future perspectives. This article also presents some interesting findings, views and further advancements from UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) funded project 5G RuralFirst.