The innovation in telecommunications and the consolidation of the 4.0 Industry are not just distinctive and competitive values, but – in the current economic and social scenario – they have become the way in which one society can boost prosperity, employment and the quality of life of their population, especially through smart communication and access to information.
The positive impact of the digital transformation and the development of the trends on telecommunications have led to the Smart City, an environment we are familiar with, which is understood as the way for a sustainable and more equal growth through the use of technology.
The Smart City potential is such that the Digital Agenda for Europe advocates for every technological innovation and development in buildings and homes to have a relevant impact on the social and economic well-being of a society.
Technologies such as Big Data, IoT or Cloud are key for the development of the 4.0 Industry and for the consolidation of the Smart City. However, the first basic step to be taken must be the roll-out of new-generation networks allowing for the integration and access to every innovation in telecommunications.
New-generation networks: NGA and NGN
The deployment of NGA networks – Next Generation Access – was the first step to update and expand fixed-broadband services allowing for access at a broadband speed of 30Mbps, as well as for the use of both fiber optic and coaxial cable, which improves the quality and efficiency of the connection service.
Basically, new-generation access networks are based on the roll-out of transport networks by fiber optic ending in cutting-edge radio interfaces. Fiber optics allow for deployment on wide areas, guaranteeing great bandwidth and speed. Once fiber optics have been deployed to the service delivery point, the final user expects to have both physical and wireless connectivity.
As for radio frequency networks, access points incorporating the most recent protocols – such as 802.11s, 802.11r, 802.11k –allow for access to the network in safe mode and in optimal conditions for every scenario. It must be borne in mind that the user expects to have specific services in one single network, offering an adapted security strategy.
According to the Ofcom in the UK, NGA networks are defined as “Super-fast broadband which is generally taken to mean broadband products that provide a maximum download speed that is greater than 24 Mbit/s. This threshold is commonly considered to be the maximum speed that can be supported on current generation (copper-based) networks”.
The extension of NGA networks has called for the installation of new FTTH accesses (fiber-optic networks) and HFC (coaxial-cable networks) in order to improve connections in dwellings, as well as enterprise or administration buildings.
More specifically, household fiber optics have been the most implemented solution over the last years. It has been the key telecommunication network for the distribution of advanced telephone services, broadband Internet and television, as they have the best features in terms of data-transmission quality, safety and connection speed compared with the traditional “cable networks”.
According to the latest available information released by the National Commission of Markets and Competition (NCMC), the increase in fiber-optic access points in Spain has been going up since 2016. This trend has led to the increase in the number of dwellings with access to broadband and to a connection speed that is equal or greater than 30Mbps.
On the other hand, it must be noted that new-generation networks have been deployed in areas with a population of between 10.000 and half a million people, and also that private investments are essential to meet the objective of 100Mbps by 2025, delaying the biggest deployment of Next Generation Networks yet.
NGNs represent the evolution towards Internet Protocol (IP) networks. It will allow for the concentration of multimedia services in the so-called “packages” including voice, data, VOD services, among other integrated ones, taking advantage of the bandwidth and the independence of the network infrastructure.
Telecommunications in the Smart City: reception, access and speed
In 2010 – when the Digital Agenda for Europe was created – the European Commission was clear about the importance of the expansion of new-generation networks, as well as the implementation of telecommunication innovations across Europe. This seeks for a successful socioeconomic development in every member state and, thus, for Europe’s better positioning in the digital world economy.
For this reason, the development of the 4.0 Industry and the consolidation of the Smart City are closely linked to meeting specific conditions, in terms of the features that the telecommunication networks must have.
In order to meet the Europe 2020’s goals, every European country must be able to offer the contracting of network services to their population; that is, every European city will comply with the reception expectations, and with the minimum levels of access speed that must be, at least, 30Mbps.
Meanwhile, Europe will devote great efforts so that, by 2020, 50% of the European population can have access to connections greater than 100 Mbps, as many geographical areas and locations with the main socioeconomic engines – healthcare, education or administrative services – already have NGN infrastructure.
LEAVE THE COMMENT