In the remote agricultural province of Lao Cai in Vietnam a few shared community phones are being replaced with high-speed WiMAX broadband connections and VoIP telephony for thousands of residents. In rural Cambodia, a new 3G/UMTS mobile network is being deployed for delivery of high-bandwidth wireless services, including live streaming of mobile TV channels. In rural India, farmers can monitor crop prices and place orders for goods electronically by visiting broadband 'community centers' that are taking root around the country.
All are examples of a 'rural revolution' enveloping less-developed countries in Asia and around the world, made possible by advanced telecommunications technologies such as Wi-Fi, WiMAX and 3G. This revolution is bringing high-speed Internet access and next-generation telephony to millions of users who previously had little or no access to even the most basic telecoms services. Local service providers, working in partnership with large multinational telecoms companies such as Alcatel-Lucent, Intel, Nokia-Siemens and others, are stretching the boundaries of the telecom grid to encompass even the most distant and remote areas. Often, they are also working with national and regional government officials who view the new services as a way to bolster economic development and empower local citizens.
'There's a big digital divide developing between cities and rural areas in many countries,' explains Nathan Burley, an analyst with Ovum based in Melbourne. 'Governments are becoming aware of this digital divide, and they are trying to connect the unconnected.' At the same time, Burley adds, many operators face customer market saturation in urban areas, so they are pushing out into rural regions to capitalize on new growth opportunities. Large telecoms vendors face much the same challenge as developed markets mature. And there are plenty of places to turn for economic development funds, especially for projects in remote rural regions.
'We are starting to see increases in [rural telecom] deployments,' says Phillip Marshall, VP of enabling technologies for Yankee Group. 'In the lion's share of cases, the primary drivers are political initiatives to bridge the digital divide, municipal and local government initiatives, and support from economic development funds like the World Bank and USTDA (the US Trade and Development Agency).'
Vietnam takes lead
The project in Lao Cai illustrates the trends of joint cooperation between vendors, operators and governments to tap new opportunities for economic development.
Intel Corp., the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and Vietnam Data Communications, a local service provider that is part of Vietnam Post and Telecom Group (VNPT), joined together last year to deploy WiMAX in the rural agricultural province of 600,000 comprised of 25 different ethnic groups. Lao Cai is located in a mountainous area of northern Vietnam, abutting the Chinese border. There had been some limited fixed-line telephone service and DSL broadband available within the city of Lao Cai, but even these services disappeared for the bulk of the population when they stepped outside the immediate town borders.
'This is the first WiMAX deployment in Vietnam,' says Bernard Mazer, the project's architect and manager for USAID. 'We wanted to show this was a viable technology. We also wanted to pick a rural spot; Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City already have a telecom infrastructure established. We looked at different areas, but another important factor here is that we have some good, local political support.'