The issue of provision of voice and data services to remote and unconnected regions remains a pressing topic, according to World Telecom Labs in a report released at the weekend.

According to preliminary results of a Universal Service Fund (USF) poll by WTL, involving operators, ISPs, NGOs, Government Agencies, and vendors, among others, confirm, once again, the keen interest there is in delivering voice and data services to the unconnected.

The results show that an overwhelming 96% of our respondents see Universal Service (Provision) Fund (USF) as offering huge potential to solve connectivity and service delivery issues.

However, WTL said that the issue of connectivity in remote areas is gathering huge attention, thanks to the efforts of industry consortia, such as the internet.org foundation.

The Company writes on its website, “At WTL, we’ve been running our own initiative to try to understand motivation and action in this domain and we’ve begun to uncover some interesting results. We sent our Universal Service Fund (USF) poll to operators, ISPs, NGOs, Government Agencies, and vendors, among others, and preliminary results confirm, once again, the keen interest there is in delivering voice and data services to the unconnected. An overwhelming 96% of our respondents see USF as offering huge potential to solve connectivity and service delivery issues.

“An interesting observation is that, while all operators expressed an interest in delivering connectivity to unconnected areas, so too did NGOs and Government Agencies: in other words, there is a broad stakeholder community that recognises the problem and wants to take action.

“In itself, that should be no surprise. The economic and social benefits of providing such services are, by now, well known, so perhaps it was predictable that the people and associations we surveyed expressed the desire to act.

“However, there is a difference between intention and action. We also looked at the main obstacles blocking the deployment of such networks. Although the primary obstacle cited was excessive bureaucracy, according to our respondents, there are also ongoing concerns regarding the sustainability of such investments. In other words, there are still question marks regarding the economic viability of extensions to networks that deliver the connectivity so much desired.

“While the benefits are clear, it’s been the perception that the delivery of such projects is too costly and that there are clear barriers to unlocking the benefits. Happily, that’s no longer the case”.

WTL highlighted that the introduction of its rural solution, Vivada, is a game-changer that dramatically reduces the cost of deploying services in remote and rural areas, making such investments not only sustainable but also profitable.

Crucially, Vivada enables the provision of services from multiple providers across a shared infrastructure, which enables more stakeholders to take part and reduces the total cost of ownership further.

It also disrupts traditional models, as it enables exactly the kind of collaborative, entrepreneurial approach that investment in rural infrastructure need to unlock to reduce individual risk and to share more widely the benefits.

Vivada provides everything an operator needs to deploy cost-effective and sustainable GSM and data networks in rural areas.

By using World Telecom Labs’ Vivada solution, operators can deliver connectivity services to all types of users with varying telecoms budgets including GSM for every type of handset, WiFi connectivity for smartphones, tablets, laptops and PCs; connectivity to cybercafés or hotspot call cabins ; and provide money transfer services.

Vivada offers rapid deployment with low CAPEX and OPEX which means that operators and entrepreneurs can rapidly deploy their services and build a profitable business, seeing ROI within 15 months, even in situations in which target sites are off-grid or have irregular and unreliable power supplies.

To address this challenge, Vivada operates on less than 200W which can be supplied by solar cells with a battery back-up. In addition, by using WTL’s patented compression techniques that reduce bandwidth requirements, satellite back-haul costs are cut in half: just 256 kbps is needed for 30 simultaneous calls.

It’s time perceptions were changed. Connecting the unconnected no longer relies on good intentions or solutions that are not sustainable.

There is now a clear, simple way to achieve these goals which can be profitable, allowing more people to play their part.

In addition to exploring this aspect, our survey also uncovered a perception that current USF rules themselves prevent such investments.

This may be because of investment criteria and mandated rates of return: it’s a somewhat circular argument and is surely linked to the notion that such investments are not sustainable.

If such investments can be made profitably, then they may also meet economic rules governing fund dispersal.

It’s time to act: if you are interested in spreading connectivity, then the way forward is clear. Why not learn more about Vivada and how we can help unlock new economic benefits, profitably and sustainably?