DOCUMENT RESUME ED 399 125 RC 020 725 AUTHOR Allen, Kenneth C.; And Others TITLE Survey of Rural Information Infrastructure Technologies. INSTITUTION National Telecommunications and Information Administration (DOC), Washington, D.C. REPORT NO NTIA-SP-95-33 PUB DATE Sep 95 NOTE 211p. PUB TYPE Reports Research/Technical (143) Information Analyses (070) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC09 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Access to Information; *Audiovisual Communications; Computer Networks; Geographic Isolation; *Information Technology; Public Policy; *Rural Areas; Small Towns; *Telecommunications; Teleconferencing IDENTIFIERS Access to Technology; *National Information Infrastructure ABSTRACT and information technologies can reduce the barriers of distance and space tnacuitage rils,a1 areas. This report defines a set of distinct voice, computer, and video telecommunication services; describes several rural information applications that make use of these services; and surveys various wireline and wireless systems and technologies that are being used or that might be used to deliver these services to rural areas. Rural information applications such as distance learning require a wide range of telecommunication services, but no current system or technology is capable of delivering services to all areas. This report concludes that there are many technologie's suit.lble for providing voice telecommunication services in rural areas. It is also technically feasible to provide advanced computer networking and video capabilities to even relatively small towns in rural areas. However, no available technology could economically provide these broadband capabilities to the most isolated farms, ranches, and homes. New wireless technology would be needed to accomplish this. Government regulations and policies will also play an essential role in the development of the Rural Information Infrastructure. Different regulations and policies will likely be required in rural areas than in urban areas. Contains 66 references. Appendices list acronyms and abbreviations and describe measurements of rural spectrum usage in the 108-MHz to 19.7-GHz frequency range, conducted at Eureka, California. (Author/SV) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** urvey o ural :50 Inoration I nrastructure echnologies 411 to trIglik 7 .41 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION I CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this docu- ment do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. BEST COPY AVAILABLE IIAENT Op, U.S. Department of Commerce / National Telecommunications NnA and Information Administration V 4 NTIA Special Publication 95-33 SURVEY OF RURAL INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE TECHNOLOGIES U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Ronald H. Brown, Secretary Larry Irving, Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information, and Administrator, National Telecommunications and Information Administration September 1995 PREFACE The mission of the National Telecommunications andInformation Administration (NTIA) isto promotethetechnologicaldevelopment and economic competitivenessof theU.S. telecommunications and information industries in orderto benefit the people of the United States. Among its many activities, NTIA oversees the Telecommunicationsand Information Infrastructure Assistance Program (TIIAP). TIIAP supports National Information Infrastructure (NII)planning activities and demonstration projects at the grassroots level throughout the Nation,and provides a partnering model that accelerates development of the NII by leveraging privateinvestments with limited Federal dollars. In 1994, TIIAP provided $24.4 million for 92grants in 45 states and the District of Columbia to plan, test, and/or stimulate NII activities by non-profitinstitutions (school districts, public libraries, local governments, etc.). Projectpartners contributed $40 million in matching funds, resulting in a total investment in public infrastructureof $64.4 million. The Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS) isthe chief research and engineeringarm of NTIA. ITS has prepared this report insupport of the objectives of TIIAP.It is available electronically through the ITS Home Pageon the World Wide Web at http://www.its.bldrdoc.gov. More information about ITS, NTIA, and TIIAPcan also be found by visiting this Web site. Certain commercial systems, equipment, and servicesare identified in this report. In no case does such identification imply recommendationor endorsement by NTIA, nor does it imply thatany of these systems, equipment, or servicesare the best available. iii 4 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS While many individuals and organizations supplied information for this report, theauthors would particularly like to thank the following individuals and organizations for their assistance.The photograph on the front cover showing the antenna tower and communicationsequipment operating in a forest region was provided by SRT Telecommunications Limited. ChuckGeer and Dan Sonntag of SRT Telecommunications Limited, Don Parrish of InterDigital Communications Corporation, and Jim Longnecker of Optaphone Systems (a division of CarlsonCommunications, Inc.) provided valuable technical information on the operation of variouscommunication systems in rural areas. Cody Graves of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission,Richard Ruhl of Pioneer Telephone, and Sidney Sperry of the Oklahoma Association of ElectricCooperatives were extremely helpful in providing information on rural telephone operationsand the role of cooperatives. Alice Parker of the Teletraining Institute contributed insight intodistance learning and its technical requirements.A special thanks goes to Al Romero of the Mountain Administrative Support Center, Graphic Support Services, for his tireless efforts inproducing the front cover of this report. iv CONTENTS Page EXECUTIVE SUMMARY vii ABSTRACT xi 1. INTRODUCTION 1-1 1.1 Purpose and Scope 1-2 1.2 Defining Rural Areas 1-2 2.TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES AND RURAL INFORMATION APPLICATIONS 2-1 2.1 Voice and Audio Telecommunication Services 2-1 2.2 Computer Telecommunication Services 2-2 2.3 Video Telecommunication Services 2-2 2.4 Rural Information Applications 2-4 2.4.1 Electronic Mail 2-4 2.4.2 Remote Access to Computer-based Data 2-4 2.4.3 Distance Learning 2-5 2.4.4 LAN Interconnection 2-5 2.4.5 Electronic Commerce 2-6' 2.4.6 Electronic Government 2-7 2.5 Summary 2-7 3. WIRELINE SYSTEMS AND TECHNOLOGY 3-1 3.1Public Switched Telephone Network 3-1 3.2 Cable Television 3-6 3.3. Computer Communication Networks 3-12 3.3.1 Circuit-switched Technology 3-12 3.3.2 Packet-switched Technology 3-13 3.3.3 Fast Packet-switched Technologies 3-13 3.3.4 Rural Access to Computer Communication Networks 3-15 4. WIRELESS SYSTEMS AND TECHNOLOGY 4-1 4.1 Land Mobile Radio 4-2 4.2 HF Radio 4-9 4.3 Terrestrial Broadcasting 4-11 4.3.1 Broadcast Television 4-12 4.3.2 Broadcast Radio 4-14 4.4 Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Service (MMDS) 4-17 4.5 Wireless Telephone Systems 4-22 4.5.1 Mobile Telephone 4-23 4.5.2 Cellular Telephone 4-25 4.5.3Personal Communications Services (PCS) 4-33 4.5.4Wireless Private Branch Exchange 4-37 4.5.5Rural Radio and Subscriber Radio 4-39 4.5.6Basic Exchange Telecommunications Radio Service (BETRS) 4-41 4.6Radio Paging 4-46 4.7Packet Radio 4-48 4.8Wireless Local Area Networks 4-52 4.9Wireless Digital Modems 4-54 4.10 Satellite Systems and Services 4-56 4.10.1 Fixed-Satellite Service 4-59 4.10.2 Broadcasting-Satellite Service 4-63 4.10.3 Mobile-Satellite Service 4-63 5.SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 5-1 5.1Factors Affecting the Implementation of the Rural Information Infrastructure . 5-2 5.1.1Needs and Applications 5-2 5.1.2Economics 5-2 5.1.3Regulations and Policies 5-2 5.2Ability of Technologies to Deliver Telecommunication Services 5-3 5.2.1Voice and Audio Telecommunication Services 5-5 5.2.2Computer Telecommunication Services 5-5 5.2.3Video Telecommunication Services 5-6 5.2.4Today's Rural Information Infrastructure 5-6 5.3Conclusions 5-7 6.REFERENCES 6-1 APPENDIX A: ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS A-1 APPENDIX B: EXAMPLE OF RURAL SPECTRUM USAGE B-1 B.1 Survey Site Selection B-1 B.2 Spectrum Survey Measurements B-1 B.2.1Survey Band Events B-2 B.2.2 Band Event Schedules B-3 B.3 Spectrum Survey for Eureka, California B-3 B.3.1Measured Data B-4 B.3.2 Band-by-Band Observations on Spectrum Usage B-5 B.4 References B-5 vi EXECUTIVE SUMMARY It is a top priority of the Clinton Administrationto develop an advanced National Information Infrastructure (NH) that will deliver to all Americansthe information they need when theywant it and where they want it, at an affordable price.Extending the NII into inner cities andrural areas is of particular concern to the Administration. Inan April speech at Educom's National Net '95, Larry Irving, Assistant Secretary forCommunications and Information, U.S. Department of Commerce, stated We believe the following four goalsare essential to promote universal and equitableaccess to the NII:(1) preservation and advancement of theconcept of universal service, (2) promotion of community partnerships, (3) continued support foruniversities and research institutions, and (4) outreach to underserved