The “gigabit era” is often perceived as driven by simple supply and demand forces. However, when it comes to the digital divide, government initiatives are often a great opportunity for service providers to extend their offerings and reach.
Case study: the UK Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme and wireless ISPs
The United Kingdom’s Department of Digital, Culture, Media & Sport promotes the adoption of gigabit-speed services across the UK with its Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme. The goal is to fulfill a vision of “Full-Fiber Britain”, where small businesses can redeem up to £3,000 against the cost of establishing a gigabit-capable broadband service. Residents can also use the same scheme and redeem vouchers of up to £500.
The rationale behind the £67M budget allocation is simple – to promote broadband connectivity as a major catalyst for the productivity of small businesses and privates. On the other hand, this plan is a great opportunity for service providers to extend their offering, the addressable market and their reach.
In fact, this is actually much simpler than it seems at first glance!
While the vision name “Full Fiber Britain” suggests the use of optical fiber to achieve gigabit-enabled connectivity, the program does not limit the voucher to fiber-based services.
In many cases, the most cost- and time-efficient way to reach new customers with gigabit-enabled services is wireless point-to-point solutions. As described in a previous post, a multi-gigabit point-to-point connection can be easily achieved by utilizing a millimeterwave spectrum (specifically E-Band and V-Band).
With these solutions, customer connectivity can be achieved within a few days and with significantly lower costs as compared to deploying fiber infrastructure for a new customer or building.
All of this is true anywhere and anytime, but boosting the offering with a refund from the government is, in many cases, a game-changer for the end customer as the benefits of a gigabit-capacity service are clear and the major hurdle of a one-time installation fee is practically removed.
Harnessing such a government program to promote broadband services typically results in business growth in terms of customers, reach, and profitability.
Click to learn how to leverage such government initiatives with Ceragon's E-Band solution
