Wireless Broadband Access to Bridge the Digital Divide

This textbook discusses the global digital divide and explores strategies to address it through communication engineering by focusing on wireless broadband access, theories, and the broader ecosystem shaping the digital divide challenge. The book first provides an overview of the current digital divide along with its inherent challenges. The author then explains the complexity of the issue and how one solution will not apply to all situations, and emphasis on the need for a combination of technologies (terrestrial and non-terrestrial) and strategies to sustainably bridge the gap. The author delves into how access gap and usage gap needs to be addressed by understanding the regional contexts in terms of demand, digital literacy and adoption, existing technologies, and affordability. This understanding informs the developed of tailored approaches that are feasible across technological, economic, and governance dimensions, and they rely on the collaborative efforts among the stakeholders. 

This book provides in-depth insights into enabling technologies, network architecture, techno-economic modeling, and environmental modeling that support the development of scalable business models, and provide insights in terms of accessibility, affordability, and availability of the potential approaches. This book features studies of ongoing project trials across Africa, Asia, Europe, the America, and Oceania, offering insights into approaches for bridging the global digital divide. The book equips the reader with the knowledge to evaluate and implement inclusive digital ecosystems for all. Classroom material includes questions, exercises, slides for course instructors, solutions, extra references for further in-depth study, projects, and assignments. This book is suitable for senior undergraduates, graduates, advanced graduates, practicing engineers, industry researchers, policymakers, regulators, and anyone who is working towards connecting the unconnected.