IEEE: 4G will change rural IT landscape
Fast 4G wireless technologies will be a good fit for rural and developing parts of the world where landline internet service is scarce, claimed experts from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
“High-speed wireless would ... extend the reach of high-quality healthcare through telemedicine,” according to the Piscataway, N.J.-based technical professional association.
"Increased bandwidth through 4G will open many doors for rural areas of the world that do not currently have easy access to advanced data networks," said Shuzo Kato, PhD, IEEE Fellow. "For example, medical doctors could instantly and remotely connect via video to rural areas to guide emergency workers in treating the sick or injured."
Kato, a professor at the Research Institute of Electrical Communications at Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan, posited that with peak data transfer speeds between 100 Mbps and 1 Gbps—faster than most consumers' landline-based internet access today—4G wireless will reduce the digital divide between major urban centers and rural and developing parts of the world.
In addition, because 4G operates on more frequency bands than previous wireless generations, operators can employ lower-frequency signals that travel much further from transmitter stations using the same amount of power, Kato concluded. “This broadens geographic coverage at lower cost than existing generations of wireless technology.”
“High-speed wireless would ... extend the reach of high-quality healthcare through telemedicine,” according to the Piscataway, N.J.-based technical professional association.
"Increased bandwidth through 4G will open many doors for rural areas of the world that do not currently have easy access to advanced data networks," said Shuzo Kato, PhD, IEEE Fellow. "For example, medical doctors could instantly and remotely connect via video to rural areas to guide emergency workers in treating the sick or injured."
Kato, a professor at the Research Institute of Electrical Communications at Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan, posited that with peak data transfer speeds between 100 Mbps and 1 Gbps—faster than most consumers' landline-based internet access today—4G wireless will reduce the digital divide between major urban centers and rural and developing parts of the world.
In addition, because 4G operates on more frequency bands than previous wireless generations, operators can employ lower-frequency signals that travel much further from transmitter stations using the same amount of power, Kato concluded. “This broadens geographic coverage at lower cost than existing generations of wireless technology.”