Solution 1: Optimizing broadband coverage in urban areas
This is when I always choose my own example. I live in a cul de sac in downtown Lyon, where all the streets around our home have been fibered.
But since we are only six families, it is clearly not a priority for telcos to invest here. But they are wrong. The first connectivity that reaches us will get an additional six subscribers. And French towns are full of areas like mine.
A specialist estimates that only 70% of the population in towns can be easily fibered while the rest are left behind. But the remaining 30% are also a massive market that require local solutions to be included in the core network.
So, how can this be done? Well, each operator has a unique asset.
The first answer is to opt for 4G WTTX solutions. This is what French operators do except for Free Mobile, because it requires a good 4G coverage.
The second option is to choose the existing copper infrastructure, using for example, Distribution Point Unit (DPU) technologies.
Solution 2: Optimizing very high-speed coverage in rural areas
There is a big pressure from the government to provide coverage to rural areas. Several initiatives have been launched in France, USA and Germany to encourage telcos to invest there. But they are a bit reluctant to do so, mainly because of the high costs involved in providing coverage for a limited customer base.
However, taking into account that more low-income earners live in rural areas, the emergence of technologies becomes necessary to encourage telcos to invest.
So, which one is the best? Is it Coaxial, Copper, FTTh or 4G LTE?
As this is the case for urban areas, the solution is to choose the most effective technology, based on the local situation. The most reliable would definitely be the one that can carry traffic across long distances.
This is comparable to the last mile logistics: what is locally the best answer?
Solution 3: Connecting socio-economic drivers
Schools, business parks, universities, hospitals and research centres, also need broadband access, even in a context of tensions on public budgets
New Zealand is the first country to have connected all of its hospitals to ultra-fast broadband. The arrival of Wi-Fi 6 (Wi-Fi 11ax 802) should facilitate deployments on these economic agents. And this is a challenge that was put forward by the European Commission since 2018.