Article: Rural Wireless Connectivity: A big problem with a simple solution

By Keith Bloomer of Poynting Europe GmbH. First published in February 2019.

Rural Concerns

According to a recent OFCOM report, over 1 million people living in the UK do not have access to download speeds of 10Mbps, and where the average download speed at the end of 2018 was 17Mbps - this in an age where consumers and businesses rely on high speed connectivity to operate, whether this is to FaceTime in an important meeting or to make a financial transfer. The UK is not alone, also mainland European mobile network operators in amongst others Germany, France, Italy and Denmark all encounter the same or similar connectivity challenges.

Mobile network operators are starting to wake up to the fact that rural communities, or in some cases ‘extra rural communities’, require expansion investment to improve the service levels of mobile broadband. And in some European countries it is known that local operators are in fact guaranteeing minimum service levels in rural areas where consumers or businesses sign up to their service. The recent OFCOM report found that rural businesses could receive an overall revenue boost of up to £141m driven by the implementation of 4G, representing a potential £45m boost to the UK economy and boost to underlying employment growth of 31%.

Increasingly, both mobile network operators and SME businesses are becoming aware that advances in antenna technology can significantly improve mobile connectivity performance quickly and at a relatively lost-cost. Improving download speeds in literally minutes by changing the antenna.

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Author: Keith Bloomer
Date: 05.04.19