Universal Broadband Network Access

Breadcrumbs: The Future of Ubiquitous Computing --> Driving Forces: Technological Forces --> Universal Broadband Network Access

Description

Universal Broadband Network Access is a term describing the drive to have high-speed access available any- and everywhere. Enabling each electronic device and item to be connected to the internet or otherwise networked.

Cheap, ubiquitous high-speed Internet access promises to accelerate economic growth, create new jobs and industries, advance education and lifelong learning, inform and improve health care decision-making, and raise living standards.

Universal Broadband Network Access Device
Currently, with the exception of the computer, the devices that can be used to access broadband services are not network aware. We refer to the devices for accessing broadband services (e.g., computers, televisions, and telephones) as information appliances. While future information appliances will be network ready, near- term support for existing information appliances is required. The lack of network-aware information appliances creates the need for a general-purpose access device that allows any existing information appliance to access broadband services. To satisfy this need, we present an approach for designing an access device that implements all necessary broadband network access functions as well as appliance-specific functions such as MPEG decoders in credit- card-sized PCI-bus adapters. The proposed device, referred to as the Universal Broadband Network Access Device (UBNAD), provides a reconfigurable platform for delivery of broadband services to the customer premises network (CPN). Depending on the nature of the service delivery network and the nature of the information appliances connected to the CPN, the UBNAD at a customer premise can be configured with appropriate adapters. By supporting an open interface for network- specific as well as information-appliance-specific adapters, the UBNAD can potentially support a cost- effective migration path to broadband services for the existing customer base. The ACM Digital Library

Enablers

• IPv6
• Ultra-wideband (UWB) technology in networking
• PAN
• WiFi
• WIMAX

Inhibitors

• Competition between different service/solution providers, An Argument Against Universal Broadband Access
• incompatible standards
• Emergence of new Technology Related Diseases

Experts

Steve Hurley
Department of Computer Science,
Centre for Mobile Communications,
Cardiff University,
Queens Buildings,
P.O. Box 916, The Parade,
Cardiff CF24 3XF,
UK

Timing

Wi-Fi Timeline

Web Resources

• Wikipedia entry on Wireless internet
• Down to Business: Universal Broadband Access for All?
• Universal Broadband Access: An Architecture for a User-Centric Broadband World
• Wi-Fi Everywhere: Universal Broadband Access as Antitrust and Telecommunications Policy