Techno-economic Model and Analysis of Broadband Deployment in the City of Lodz with the WiMAX Technology

摘要

This article presents an analytical model for the development of broadband infrastructure. The model is designed specifically for the city of Lodz, though it is general enough to be used in other cities/regions. The model uses simulation and inverse simulation techniques. It first calculates the demands on the traffic for various categories of business and individual subscribers. Then the number of necessary base-stations, together with such parameters as modulation type, reach, number of sectors, is derived, taking into account such other terrain data as signal attenuation, station placement pattern, etc. Finally, economic indicators regarding building and using the network are computed (cash balance, net present value, payback period, internal rate of return), while analysing a number of factors such as different investment and operation costs, initial subsidies, equipment depreciation, agreements between the co-operators, taxes, etc. Several different analyses for Lodz are presented, each providing, in its own way, interesting and sometimes non-trivial conclusions, e.g. regarding the profitability of investing in rural parts of the city. The model has been developed within the framework of the European BReATH (Broadband e-Services and Access for the Home) project.