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Optical fiber: exploring costs and benefits

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Resumo:We live in an era of digital transformation and, the importance of Technologies of Information and Communication in today's societies is increasing. The access and use of these technologies have socioeconomic impacts and, the benefits cover several sectors. The European Union has created different initiatives to improve and increase connectivity to faster communication networks and, at affordable prices. In this way, optical fiber plays a fundamental role due to its advantages, such as higher speed, better connectivity, more signal stability, and greater infrastructure durability. However, there is a visible difference in access between cities and less populated areas to this type of technology, making it necessary to increase investment in more rural areas. In this context, Portugal created public tenders and, in a partnership with private companies, the access to fiber in rural areas has been increasing. This work aims to measure the costs and benefits of optical fiber installation in Portuguese municipalities with lower population density. Although investment in these places is not as attractive as in cities, the objective is to prove that the benefits outweigh the costs. The methodology used was a cost-benefit analysis, in line with the state of the art in the area and that the European Commission subscribes for this type of project. In addition, an online questionnaire was structured and distributed to the municipalities under analysis, to understand the general opinion regarding fiber optics. In the 63 municipalities analyzed it was verified that the benefits outweighed the costs. On average, for each euro invested there, is calculated a return of 3.49€ (if there was a new fiber connection) or 1.74€ (if there was an upgrade from basic broadband to optical fiber). Thereby, under the assumptions assumed, it has been proved that investment in these rural areas is beneficial.
Autores principais:Ferreira, Ana Isabel Rodrigues
Assunto:Broadband Cost-benefit analysis Optical fiber Análise de custo-benefício Banda larga Fibra ótica
Ano:2021
País:Portugal
Tipo de documento:dissertação de mestrado
Tipo de acesso:acesso aberto
Instituição associada:Universidade do Minho
Idioma:inglês
Origem:RepositóriUM - Universidade do Minho

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