The increasing demand for broadband access leads operators to upgrade the existing access infrastructures (or building new access network). Broadband access networks require higher investments (especially passive infrastructures such as trenches/ducts and base station towers/masts), and before making any decision it is important to analyze all solutions. The selection of the best solution requires understanding the technical possibilities and limitations of the different access technologies, as well as understanding the costs of building and operating the networks. This study analyzes the effect of asymmetric retail and wholesale prices on operators’ NPV, profit, consumer surplus, welfare, retail market, wholesale market, and so on. For that, we propose a techno-economic model complemented by a theoretic-game model. This tool identifies all the essential costs of building (and operating) access networks and performs a detailed analysis and comparison of the different solutions in various scenarios. Communities, operators/service providers, and regulators can use this tool to compare different technological solutions, forecast deployment costs, compare different scenarios, and so on, and help them in making deployment (or regulatory) decisions. The game-theory analyses give a better understanding of the competition and its effect on the business case scenarios’ economic results. 1. Introduction Service providers, network operators, and Internet access providers are faced with the challenge of providing higher-capacity access to the end user and offering wider services [1]. Consequently, new Internet infrastructure and technologies that are capable of providing high-speed and high-quality services are needed to accommodate multimedia applications with diverse quality of service (QoS) requirements. Until a few years ago, Internet access for residential users was almost exclusively provided via public switched telephone networks (PSTN) over the twisted copper pair [2]. The new quadruple play services (i.e., voice, video, data, and mobility), which require high-speed broadband access, created new challenges for the modern broadband wireless/wired access networks [3]. The new services led to both the development of several different last-mile solutions to make the access network capable of supporting the requirements and a stronger integration of optical and wireless access networks. The move toward next-generation networks (NGNs) has significant implications for the technical architecture and design of access network infrastructure, as well as the value
References
[1]
S. L. Kota, Satellite Multimedia Networks and Technical Challenges, Microwave Review, 2006.
[2]
O. C. Ibe, Fixed Broadband Wireless Access Networks and Services, John Wiley & Sons, 2002.
[3]
J. P. R. Pereira and P. Ferreira, “Access networks for mobility: a techno-economic model for broadband access technologies,” in Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Testbeds and Research Infrastructures for the Development of Networks and Communities and Workshops (TridentCom '09), pp. 1–7, April 2009.
[4]
J. S. Marcus, D. Elixmann, C. Wernick, et al., “Next Generation Networks (NGNs), European Parliament,” 2009.
[5]
F. Kirsch and C. Von Hirschhausen, “Regulation of NGN: structural separation, access regulation, or no regulation at all?” in Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Infrastructure Systems and Services: Building Networks for a Brighter Future (INFRA '08), pp. 1–8, November 2008.
[6]
C. Jaag and M. Lutzenberger, “Approaches to FTTH-regulation. An International Comparison,” in Proceedings of the 2nd Annual Conference on Competition and Regulation in Network Industries, p. 23, 2009.
[7]
J. P. Pereira, “Telecommunication Policies for Broadband Access Networks,” in Proceedings of the 37th Research Conference on Communication, Information and Internet Policy, pp. 1–13, 2009.
[8]
Analysys-Mason, Telecoms infrastructure access—sample survey of duct access, Ofcom, 2009.
[9]
J. P. Pereira and P. Ferreira, “Next Generation Access Networks (NGANs) and the geographical segmentation of markets,” in Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Networks (ICN '11), p. 6, 2011.
[10]
J. Rendón, F. Kuhlmann, and J. P. Aranis, “A business case for the deployment of a 4G wireless heterogeneous network in Spain,” in Proceedings of the 18th European Regional International Telecommunications Society, 2007.
[11]
T. Monath, N. K. Elnegaard, P. Cadro, D. Katsianis, and D. Varoutas, “Economics of fixed broadband access network strategies,” IEEE Communications Magazine, vol. 41, no. 9, pp. 132–139, 2003.
[12]
F. Loizillon, J. Harno, I. Welling, et al., “Final results on seamless mobile IP service provision economics,” IST-Information Society Technologies, 2002.
[13]
T. Monath, “Techno-economic results for fixed access network evolution scenarios,” in Book Techno-Economic Results for Fixed Access Network Evolution Scenarios, Techno-Economic Results for Fixed Access Network Evolution Scenarios, p. 28, 2005.
[14]
“Analysys-Mason, The costs of deploying fibre-based next-generation broadband infrastructure,” Analysys-Mason, Broadband Stakeholder Group, 2008.
[15]
CSMG, “Economics of Shared Infrastructure Access,” 2010.
[16]
K. Stordahl, “Broadband demand and the role of new technologies,” in Proceedings of the The 13th International Telecommunications Network Strategy and Planning Symposium, pp. 1–23, 2008.
[17]
K. Stordahl, “Market development up to 2015, MARCH—Multilink architecture for multiplay services,” 2010.
[18]
K. Stordahl, L. A. Ims, and B. T. Olsen, “Risk methodology for evaluating broadband access network architectures,” Telektronikk, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 273–285, 1999.
[19]
V. Riihim？ki, “Managing Uncertainties in Broadband Investments—Case Studies of Real Options for Rural Area Access Networks,” Department of Communications and Networking, Aalto University, Aalto, Fnland, 2010.
[20]
European-Union, “Europe’s Digital Competitiveness Report 2010,” European Union, 2010.
