OCEAN

Status

Completed
Status date

2017-05-16
Activity Code

1A.095

Objectives

Analyse and characterise broadband solutions relying on solutions involving satellite systems vs. terrestrial-only architecture
For each solution:
- Assess its topology
- Estimate its cost, and
- Assess its benefits in terms of:
  - The quality of broadband delivered
  - The uptake to be expected
Do this for three geo-economic regions
Look at access network, as well as interconnection network
Do this for short-term (2015-2019) and long-term solutions (2020-2025)
Develop a numerical and visualisation tool which allows to elaborate sample test cases for communication purposes
Carry out a pilot measurement campaign to assess the broadband quality delivered by the satellite solution

Challenges

No key challenges identified for this project

Benefits

Impartial study on benchmarking satellite solutions with the corresponding reference terrestrial solutions
Service uptake analysis for satellite and terrestrial access solutions

Integrated numerical analysis and visualisation tool allows to elaborate sample test cases for easy communication & dissemination activities
Firsthand end-user quality of service (QoS) measurement on broadband delivered by the satellite solution

Features

OCEAN team is a collection of world-class competence in all the areas needed to successfully carry out the study: excellent technical expertise on broadband solutions, both terrestrial and satellite-based; renowned competence on cost-benefit analysis of broadband networks and undoubted competence in the assessment of broadband performance. Moreover, Acreo’s experience in leading large European research projects with participation from industry and academia is ensuring the study to be performed according to high-standard scientific methods.

On top of that competence, the team is well-proven, with excellent collaboration during the SABER project (Acreo, Airbus and Skylogic). And secondly, the extensive network of contacts within SABER, ONE and other relevant projects and networks of excellence (e.g. CIP-ENGAGE and INTERREG-Micropol) provides the contact points with public administrations and ICT observatories to collect the necessary uptake data and correlate those with institutional support initiatives.

Plan

The study logic is articulated around 3 phases:

A first phase to set up the landscape with the objective to refine the characteristics of the chosen geo-economics regions and justify and define the associated scenarios (M1), and to define and cost the architectures chosen for each scenario (M2), in the meantime to initiate defining and developing the Numerical and Visualization tool
A second phase focusing on the service uptake analysis (M3) with the continuation of defining and developing the Numerical and Visualization tool
The last phase devoted to finalize the Numerical and Visualization tool and produce the sample test cases (M4, M5)

Current status

OCEAN has ended successfully. Through OCEAN we concluded that satellite has a true role to play for rural/remote areas. In particular, we observe that:

Terrestrial and satellite services compete where the population density is medium, even if concentrated over a quite limited territory;
Satellite services are more cost effective where the population density is medium to low and the premises are spread over large territories.

Three tools in the form of standalone Excel workbooks based on the models and calculations for costing broadband networks and broadband service take-up projections were developed in OCEAN. Key parameter sensitivity demos are also available in the developed tool for costing terrestrial networks architectures, e.g., cost sensitivity of the degree of duct sharing to the overall network deployment cost.