Strategies to Address the Digital Divide
摘要
Globally, several strategies are being tested and trialed to improve the affordability, accessibility, and availability in the telecommunication sector. Many initiatives and subsidies have been launched to assist stakeholders in bridging the digital divide, especially integration of space-air-ground networks (SAGIN). These efforts aim to mitigate the challenges posed by the telecommunication industry, which requires significant upfront financial resources and generates earnings subsequently. The strategies need to address both the access gap, such as integration of technologies, spectrum sharing, infrastructure sharing, technology integration, and futuristic network design; and the usage gap, such as digital literacy, affordability, and priorities. It is anticipated that these strategies will reduce the total cost of the network and make it a viable business model in underserved regions. Hence, this chapter focuses on exploring these strategies adopted by the telecommunication stakeholders, as well as understanding the economic and environmental frameworks to evaluate the feasibility and long-term sustainability of the proposed broadband technologies.