Analyses and comparisons of fixed access technologies for rural broadband implementation

The paper analyzes the possibilities of the fixed broadband access deployment in Croatian rural areas from the techno-economic aspects. A model for assessing the costs of rural broadband access is introduced and the techno-economic analysis of broadband networks deployment is conducted. In several different rural scenarios the costs of fixed broadband PLC, ADSL and WiMAX systems implementation are calculated using the basic profitability evaluation methods. The results of these analyses are presented and compared, and the specificities of each scenario affecting the broadband access costs are pointed out.