Product Review–Toshiba Satellite P750 multimedia laptop computer (Part No: PSAY3A-05F001)

Introduction

I am reviewing the Toshiba Satellite P750 multimedia laptop which is Toshiba’s effort at a work-entertainment multimedia centre that would suit current needs. It is a 15” equivalent of the Satellite P770 which is on a par with the Dell XPS L702x multimedia laptop. It is also infact the first Sandy-Bridge-driven laptop of this mainstream size to have the full “multimedia” works to become available for review on this site.

Toshiba Satellite P750 multimedia laptop

Price
– this configuration
AUD$1799
Processor Intel Sandy Bridge i7-2630M Cheaper options – all Intel Sandy Bridge
i5-2410M
RAM 8Gb
cheaper options:
4Gb or 6Gb
shared with graphics
Secondary Storage 750Gb hard disk Blu-Ray burner, SD card reader.
cheaper option – DVD burner
Display Subsystem NVIDIA GeForce GT540M with 3D Vision (1Gb display RAM) Alternate option:
NVIDIA GeForce GT540M with Optimus dual-chipset (2Gb display memory)
Screen 17” 3D widescreen (1366×768)
cheaper option
17” widescreen (1366×768)
LED-backlit LCD
Network Wi-Fi
Ethernet Gigabit Ethernet
Connectors USB 3 x USB 2.0
Video External display
Audio External audio
Operating System on supplied unit Microsoft Windows 7 Home Edition
Windows Experience Index
– this configuration
Overall: 5.9 Graphics: 6.6
Advanced Graphics: 6.6

The computer itself

Aesthetics and Build quality

The Toshiba Satellite P750 is finished in what Toshiba describes as a “metallic urban” finish. This is a dark charcoal black finish with a finished-metal texture on a plastic case. It is the same across the lid and the palmrest.

The build quality is very good for its class I would expect a lot of time of use out of this series of machines.

User interface

Toshiba Satellite P750 multimedia laptop keyboard detail

Keyboard and trackpad detail

The Toshiba is equipped with an illuminated chiclet keyboard with numeric keypad. Unlike a lot of illuminated keyboards, this only lights up when you actually use the keyboard, the same practice as observed with a lot of mobile phones. Like for most recent-issue 15” and 17” laptops, there is a proper numeric keypad. The keyboard is still roomy to use and allows you to touch-type accurately for longer periods, although it feels very slippery.

It uses a trackpad is just slightly recessed and is highlighted by an illuminated bar at the top of the trackpad area. This can still be very sensitive and cause the cursor to jump around.

The Satellite P750’s keyboard and trackpad is augmented by a Supplementary touch buttons row above the keyboard. This provides control over wireless, 3D, media play-pause, sound volume and display brightness.

Connectivity and Expandability

Toshiba Satellite P750 multimedia laptop - right hand side with Blu-Ray burner

Right-hand side with Blu-Ray burner, 2 x USB 2.0 sockets, audio input and output and power socket

The Satellite P750 laptop has three USB sockets, with one being a USB 3.0 connector for hard disks and similar applications. Unlike most other laptops I have reviewed, it doesn’t have an eSATA connection but this won’t matter if the external hard disk has a USB 3.0 connector.

The Toshiba has the same “Sleep and Charge” as the previously-reviewed Portege R830 from the same stable. This is where it can use the USB 3.0 port to supply power to external devices while it is off; and can allow you to leave the mobile phone charger behind yet charge your mobile phone.

There are two 3.5mm jacks for connecting a microphone or line-level audio device; and a pair of headphones or external speakers. This Toshiba laptop can be set to become amplified speakers for a connected external audio player even if it is off through the “Sleep And Music” mode.

External displays can be connected to the Satellite P750 using the HDMI or VGA connectors, with the HDMI connector also supporting control of HDMI-CEC compliant displays and audio setups. For example, this would cause a connected Panasonic Viera plasma TV to light up with the computer’s display image when you turn this laptop on or a home-theatre receiver like the previously-reviewed Sony STR-DA5500ES to select the right input when the laptop comes on.

Toshiba Satellite P750 multimedia laptop - left-hand-side

Left hand side connections - Gigabit Ethernet, HDMI, VGA, USB 3.0 with Sleep and Charge, USB 2.0 and TV antenna

The TV antenna connection is the standard Belling-Lee (PAL) connector that is part of the machine’s connection set. This avoids the need to mess with cord adaptors in order to connect regular TV-aerial setups for the TV tuner. Of course, ATSC (USA) variants would use the screw-on F connector.

Audio and Video

The Toshiba Satellite P750 uses a 2.1 speaker system that has been “worked” by Harman-Kardon. The main benefits that I have heard include a very “punchy” sound for all kinds of media playback.

I have tested this Toshiba’s 3D Vision capabilities on the demonstration material that is made available by NVIDIA and it is effective. The NVIDIA 3D glasses worked properly on their own battery and did provide the proper effect. They were able to be used by people who wear prescription or other glasses by just simply wearing them over those glasses. You should really have the laptop connected to AC power if you want to use 3D capabilities because this can drain the battery very fast.

There are variants in the Toshiba Satellite P750 Series which have the Optimus version of the NVIDIA GeForce GT540M. These only support 3D when connected to a 3D-capable display like the newer 3D flat-panel “main-lounge-area” TVs. But they have the the Optimus automatic dual-graphics modes that allow you to conserve battery runtime.

The screen front is very glossy which can be of nuisance value in brightly-lit rooms and can attract fingermarks.

The Satellite P750 is equipped with an integrated digital-TV tuner which would be configured for the market that this laptop is supplied in. Personally, I would prefer that the tuner is software-based so that it can be set by the user to work in any country that the laptop is taken to.

Battery life

The main disadavantage of using only a discrete graphics chipset is that you lose on the battery runtime. I was able to engage in mixed tasks (typing, multimedia) for around three hours before it run down. Even running a DVD would make through two and a half hours. Use of the 3D functionality also places more demand on the battery.

It may be not of concern if you often run the machine from AC power rather than the batteries.

Limitations and Points Of Improvement

The Toshiba Satellite P750’s trackpad could be recessed further so it isn’t easily activated during a bout of touch-typing.

The lock slot could also be repositioned so you can use larger locking devices while the laptop is connected to external power. This may be of concern with some of the combination locks that may have their release button close to the power cable.

I would also like to see the Blu-Ray drive be a direct-insert (slot-load) type rather than the typical drawer-load which becomes a bit too ordinary, especially on a premium-tier multimedia machine.

As I have said before, the TV tuner could be software-based for round-the-world TV reception; and the software-based operation could also support newer standards like DVB-T2 which is being rolled out across Europe.

Conclusion

I would position the Toshiba Sattelite P750 Series laptops as multimedia work-entertainment systems for nomadic users such as those of us who sail or fly for work. The combination of the Blu-Ray player, TV tuner and self-protecting hard disk would be of benefit to university students, nurses and the like who primarily live in on-campus accommodation that has small rooms like the typical college dorm. It also has the graphics ability that would expose it to image or video creation tasks.

Of course, if you were to take the screen size and the self-protecting hard disk out of the equation, this computer would be on a par with the Dell XPS L702x that I previously reviewed.

Postage stamps from your HP ePrint printer now available in Germany and France

Articles

HP: Briefmarken direkt am Drucker ausdrucken – NETZWELT (Germany – German language)

My translation and comments

In the USA, a service called Stamps.com is using an account-driven setup to turn your printer in to a franking machine (postage meter). This is by you purchasing postage through their Website in a prepaid manner and printing this on to envelopes after you weigh them on postage scales that you buy from Stamps.com. This solution initially needed an application but is now available through a Web-driven setup and is intended to be available through HP ePrint as a printer app.

HP Envy 100 all-in-one printer (D410a)

HP Envy 100 all-in-one printer

Here, the ePrint solution will allow for a “walk-up and buy” arrangement where you can purchase the postage and print it on to your envelope or sheet of paper using your printer without the need for your computer to be on.

Now the post offices in Germany and France have set up “print-and-post” prepaid-postage setups for customers in those countries and have established HP ePrint apps for distribution there. These will be interlinked through portals set up by the relative post offices and has been launched on the 28 September in the Post-Expo trade fair in Stuttgart, Germany.

It will of course be interesting to see whether Royal Mail, Australia Post or other post offices will head to this concept of “print-and-post” postage sales in their territories.

Telstra split ‘won’t fix monopoly’ according to rivals

Article

Telstra split ‘won’t fix monopoly’ as rivals fear reform will fail | The Australian

My comments

A lively competitive market

When I think of a competitive broadband infrastructure, it needs to be lively and competitive with many different wholesale and retail Internet service providers. Here, I would rather see the competition occur more on value than on who offers the cheapest service.

What can happen if the competitive market focuses on who offers the cheapest service is that companies can cut corners to achieve this goal. This can lead to situations that are consumer-hostile like poor customer service, rigidly-enforced terms of service that don’t allow scope for human variation and budget-tier services that don’t offer what customers need.

The proposed Telstra split

This proposed wholesale-retail breakup of Telstra could sound very much like what is happening with British Telecom in the UK. At the moment, BT are running a retail arm as well as a wholesale-infrastructure arm called Openreach.

In the case of the Telstra split, the infrastructure would be managed by a monopoly which is the National Broadband Network while there is a “wholesale” group and a “retail” group. There will be issues like preferential tariff sheets for the Telstra service as well as something yet undiscussed.

Telstra as the baseline telecommunications provider

This is the provision of the baseline telephone and Internet service. It encompasses the maintenance of public payphones; the definition and provision of the standard telephone line; the provision of the national emergency telephone services, as well as communications needs for the social sector. It can also include covering for communications through natural and other disasters. At the moment, Telstra’s discretionary mobile and Internet services prop up their role as this baseline telephony provider.

What I would also like to see is an improvement in how the baseline telecommunications service is provided and funded for. This could involve the use of tenders to determine the provision of parts of the baseline telecommunication service as well as the creation and management of universal-service funds that subsidise the provision of these services. This avoids the need for a service provider to jack up the price of discretionary services to cover the costs associated with the baseline services.

Wireline infrastructure competition

One driver for real competition is the ability to supply competing wireline infrastructure. This typically comes in the form of sub-loop unbundling where an ADSL service can be provided through the use of equipment installed between the customer’s door and the exchange and the customer’s line connected to that equipment. In an FTTH fibre-optic setup, this would be in the form of extra fibre-optic lines controlled by competing interests run to the customer’s door; a practice that is taking place in France.

For that matter, it may be worth examining what is going on in the UK and France where there was incumbent “PTT” telephone carriers but have now become lively competitive Internet-service markets. This includes how the tariff charts yielded “best-value” plans for retail telecommunications service as well as enabling factors for this level of competition. such as telecommunications legislation and regulations. It would also cover access to established physical telecommunications infrastructure in public areas like poles and pits; as well as creation and use of new infrastructure.

Conclusion

What I would like to see is that our telecommunications ministers and departments talk with their peers in both those countries ie OFCOM in the UK and ARCEP in France so they can know what was achieved for competitive telecommunications.

DLNA–to become a more credible media-management standard than Apple AirPlay

Article

Apple May Lose To Android In Device-Based Media Management | Online Media Daily (MediaPost.com)

My comments

As you may already know, Apple has been promoting their AirPlay media-management ecosystem. This was initially known as AirTunes and worked with their AirPort Express plugin broadband router which can connect to speakers or a stereo amplifier for network music playback. Here, you had to use iTunes on your Macintosh (or PC) to play the audio files through this device. This function was gradually extended to iOS devices so you can then play this same media held on these devices in the same manner.

Apple have extended the concept to images and video through the use of Apple TV and licensed the AirPlay concept to other manufacturers that are approved by themselves. It has been recently demonstrated in the latest crop of iPhone TV commercials as a way of saying that “we know best”.

But there is another standard that is more “open-frame” than the Apple AirPlay system. This standard, called DLNA, has been adopted by a larger number of software and hardware manufacturers than AirPlay.

It is a standard that I have stood for because more of the industry is behind it with it working across equipment and software of different manufacture and has become a breeding ground for innovation. Here, I have seen the arrival of network-media playback equipment that works as part of the DLNA ecosystem appear at every market tier, including the premium-audio segment, with B&O offering a trendy stylish DLNA-capable network music system that puts the Sonos on notice for example. But my stance on this issue may be considered as being of concern to Apple or some of their fanbois who value the Apple-centric information-technology setup.

Equipment like the Sony CMT-MX750Ni music system or the Western Digital WDTV Live that I have previously reviewed can play media content that is “thrown to” it by software like TwonkyMobile on your tablet or smartphone. This is in a similar way that you would do with the AirPlay setup on an all-Apple system and is capable of being performed on an Android platform as well as the iOS platform.

An issue that is forgotten about in the Apple hype is that some third-party companies have written DLNA-compliant media-management software for the iOS devices and the Macintosh platform. Examples of this include PlugPlayer and recent iOS ports of TwonkyManager. As well, I known of a friend who is running NullRiver MediaLink on his iMac in order to use it as a media server for his Sony PS3 games console and he has had success with this setup.

Tablets–another screen for the TV viewing area

Article

The tablet will be the center of the connected lifestyle — Online Video News

My comments

Acer Iconia Tab A500 tablet computerThis article is affirming the idea of using a tablet computer like the Apple iPad or the Acer Iconia Tab in the lounge room as you watch TV. Some people may object to this because of the “too many screens” argument. But of course, you will still look at the big screen for the video content.

Small personal TV

One of the most common TV-related apps for the iPad and tablets of its ilk is as a personal screen for viewing content. This could be in the form of downloading or streaming the content to the tablet device and has been subjected to various legal strangleholds with Hollywood.

But it also has been taken further with broadcast-LAN tuner adaptors which tune in and stream TV content to these tablets once controlled via a special app. As well, the use of DLNA media player software can allow you to view video content held on your home network through these devices.

Remote control for large screen

Another application of interest is for the tablet to work as a remote control for the large-screen TV. Here, this would work with apps delivered by TV and set-top-box manufacturers to the various app stores for the tablet platforms.

It would work hand in glove with programming your PVR, use of interactive-TV applications or even using the interactive functions of a Blu-Ray disc; as well as navigating an increasing array of TV channels.

Of course, I have a doubt about this when it comes to activities where you need instant response. I would like to be sure that you tap MUTE on the tablet and you are sure that the racecaller voice that is part of that commercial isn’t heard the moment you press it for example.

As well some manufacturers may limit this function to their tablets, especially if the tablet is the same brand as the TV in question; usually as a way to reinforce brand loyalty.

Show downloaded content on large screen

In a similar way to the previous “small personal TV” application, a tablet computer can be used to show content on the large television or video projector. This can be through a direct connection from the tablet’s miniHDMI socket or AV-out jack to the TV or by pushing the content to an Apple TV or DLNA network media player.

But wait there’s more:

Internet browsing concurrent with TV viewing

A very common application that I have noticed with smartphones and tablets is to engage in Internet use while watching TV. Examples of this include researching a TV programme on IMDB or a concept that was used in the TV program; using the tablet as a persistent scoreboard during a sports game or updating the Social Web during a TV show. I have expanded on the “persistent scoreboard” application in this site by mentioning an increasing number of “scoreboard apps” that are available for most sports codes and leagues and the role of these apps in enjoying your favourite sports fixtures.

The persistent scoreboard could be an app in itself or simply an always-refreshed Web page; and could remind you of where the players stand in that match you are watching. In some cases, the apps provide access to player / team information as well as on-demand video replays or interactive progress maps. Of course, you could head over to other commentary sources for comments other than what the TV commentators are barking about.

As I have seen, a lot of TV shows are integrating the Social Web very tightly in to their programming fabric. This can be typified with selected Twitter and Facebook comments being read out by the compere or a ticker with Twitter comments crawling across the bottom of the screen. Even news and public-affairs events will have official or unofficial tickers running on Twitter or Facebook as people post up comments on these events using the Social Web.

The tablet computer may work better than the “smart TV” Social-Web apps because the TV usually works with one account at a time and you won’t see the show’s video occupying the screen as you post your comment. One or more tablets (or small computers) can perform this function in an individual manner for individual viewers,

Setup requirements

In most cases, a Wi-Fi connection to the home network and broadband connection is all that is needed if the tablet is just being used at home; and would be necessary for network-media-adaptor use. This could allow you to buy a Wi-Fi-only model if it is to stay primarily at home or not be used with an external wireless-broadband router on the road.

Conclusinon

As I have said, the tablet is now working as a supplementary screen in the TV lounge area rather than just as an ebook reader and email terminal.

Intel’s Ivy Bridge next-generation chipset intending to offer

Article

Intel’s Ivy Bridge chip packs understated goodies | Business Tech – CNET News

My Comments

Intel are working on the next-generation “Ivy Bridge” computing chipset which will be considered the technical successor to the successful Sandy Bridge chipset.

High-performance integrated graphics

One major benefit that this chipset will offer is graphics performance. Here, these chipsets will be tuned for better performance than Sandy Bridge’s “Intel HD” graphics. This will lead to more powerful Integrated graphics which can also improve on the power economy. Here, this may improve the laptop’s credentials as a gaming machine. This is also augmented by integrated DirectX 11 support for games and advanced graphics applications.

The obvious question is whether it will put AMD and NVIDIA “on notice” as far as their role in supplying discrete graphics chipsets is concerned? I would see this as allowing both these companies to focus their efforts on developing their graphics chipsets as the “performance chipsets”. This is in a similar vein to the likes of Creative Labs who provide highly-tuned sound subsystems for computers;.

Here, it could allow companies intending to offer high-performance computers for CAD and hardcore gaming to implement improved dual-chipset setups while giving mainstreams users including average game players access to improved performance graphics. AMD and NVIDIA could focus on making highly-tuned graphics subsystems that show their prowess in the LAN party or the design office.

USB 3.0

Another bonus that will come about of this would be an improved USB chipset. This will provide low-latency USB data transfer and streaming; as well as inherent support for USB 3.0 . This is compared to the current USB 3.0 implementation which has another chipset serving one or two USB 3.0 ports while another serves a few USB 2.0 ports.

Windows 8

This chipset is intended to be targeted with the impending arrival of Windows 8 and these functions will provide a direct tie-in with the new operating system. This is more so with the USB 3.0 and improved USB functionality which is supported by a new USB service stack in Windows 8.

Conclusion

I would see this new chipset improve all of the computing sectors and could put performance graphics into the reach of the average computer users who will be exposed to more intense graphics and multimedia. The improved data throughput will benefit laptop users who use external storage or USB audio / video peripherals frequently.

At least it is a step towards power-effective, cost-effective high-performance computing for the mainstream.

HP ePrint Improvement–Determine your ePrint address

Article

HP ePrintCenter | It’s here: Pick your printer’s (simpler) email address

My Comments

When you currently set up an HP (Hewlett-Packard) ePrint-enabled printer’s ePrint features, you would receive a random email address for that printer. This would be difficult if you want to keep an easy-to-remember email-to-print address for your household’s or small business’s printer.

Now HP have improved this setup by allowing you to determine a custom email address for that printer. Of course, they have suggested as well that you implement the security functionalities tat are part of ePrint such as the approved senders list so that people who remember your printer’s email address don’t spam it.

There are some questions that I would have with this feature.

One would be whether one can transfer this address to different ePrint machines. This would happen when you relinquish your current ePrint printer and replace it with a newer machine.

Another issue would be whether you could allocate the one address to multiple ePrint printers. The obvious situation that would call for this would be where you have two or more ePrint printers on the one premises; such as a home setup with a B110a or Envy 100 in the living area and a C410a fax-equipped home-office machine in the home office. Or you may have an office setup that has one of the ePrint OfficeJets and an ePrint-enabled LaserJet.

The issues that may arise from this setup would include which printer gets all the ePrint jobs from that address and whether there are any flexible queue options available for these setups. An example of this could be one printer turning out the ePrint jobs but if it is “tied up” either by performing a large print run, needing its supplies replenished or being out-of-commission, the other printer could turn out the jobs.

Conclusion

At least this is one of the many steps to make the HP ePrint function more mature as far as customers are concerned.

Telephone Interview–Gigaclear UK (Matthew Hare)

In response to the latest news that has happened with Gigaclear and Rutland Telecom in relation to the Hambleton fibre-to-the-premises rollout, I offered to organise an email exchange with a representative from this company about this broadband access network.

Matthew Hare replied to my email offering to do a short Skype-based telephone interview rather than an email interview. This allowed him and I to talk more freely about the Hambleton and Lyddington rollouts which I have been covering in HomeNetworking01.info .

Real interest in rural-broadband improvements

There are the usual naysayers who would doubt that country-village residents would not need real broadband, and I have heard these arguments through the planning and execution of Australia’s National Broadband Network.

But what Matthew had told me through this interview would prove them wrong. In the Lyddington VDSL-based fibre-to-the-cabinet rollout, a third of the village had become paying subscribers to this service at the time of publication. In the Hambleton fibre-to-the-premises rollout, two-thirds of that village had “pre-contracted” to that service. This means that they had signed agreements to have the service installed and commissioned on their premises and have paid deposits towards its provision.

Satisfying the business reality

Both towns have hospitality businesses, in the form of hotels, pubs and restaurants that need real broadband. For example, Matthew cited a large “country-house” hotel in Hambleton that appeals to business traffic and this hotel would be on a better footing with this market if they can provide Wi-Fi Internet service to their guests. Similarly, these businesses would benefit from improved innovative cloud-based software that would require a proper Internet connection.

As well, most of the households in these villages do some sort of income-generating work from their homes. This can be in the form of telecommuting to one’s employer or simply running a business from home.

The reality of a proper Internet service for business was demonstrated through the Skype call session with Matthew. Here, the Skype session died during the interview and when he came back on, he told me that the fault occurred at his end. He mentioned that he was working from home at another village that had the second-rate Internet service and affirmed the need for a proper broadband service that can handle the traffic and allow you to be competitive in business.

A commercial effort in a competitive market

Matthew also underlined the fact that this activity is a proper commercial venture rather than the philanthropic effort that besets most other rural-broadband efforts. He also highlighted that there were other rural-broadband improvements occurring around the UK, including the BT Openreach deployments. and this wasn’t the only one to think of.

But what I would see is that an Internet market that is operating under a government-assured pro-consumer pro-competition business mandate is a breeding ground for service improvement, especially when it comes to rural Internet service.

Conclusion

From what Matthew Hare had said to me through the Skype telephone interview, there is a real and probable reason why the countryside shouldn’t miss out on the broadband Internet that city dwellers take for granted.

Hambleton gets close to next-generation broadband

Articles

thinkbroadband :: Gigaclear begin fibre-to-the-home deployment in Hambleton

From the horse’s mouth

Fibre-Optic Gigaclear Network for Rutland Village – Gigaclear Press Release

Rutland Telecom (Hambleton page) (Home)

My Comments

There has been previous coverage about Rutland Telecom establishing fibre-optic next-generation broadband in Hambleton, Leicestershire in the UK. Now Gigaclear are in the throes of laying down the fibre-optic infrastructure for the next-generation broadband.

The Hambleton network has been financed through private investors in the Hambleton village. Here, they would want to see a triple return in the form of financial growth, community togetherness and a real next-generation Internet service.

Of course, Rutland Telecom will be the main service provider for this town’s next-generation broadband service even though it is part of Gigaclear. The service is intended to be online in October 2011.

Significant features will include VoIP telephony and 50Mbps headline speed for the service. As well, the router, which will be an optical-network terminal will have 300Mbps dual-stream 802.11n Wi-Fi and a 4-port Gigabit Ethernet switch. This also includes a future proof software design that supports IPv6 networks, which I think are the way to go for next-generation broadband. Rutland Telecom could offer as an alternative an optical-network terminal that connects up to user-supplied broadband routers, which would be required for Wi-Fi hotspots that have advanced user control.

GigaClear and Rutland Telecom have higher expectations with a “fat pipe” data link between Hambleton and London as well as streaming of high-definition television in to this neighbourhood during the 2012 Olympics.

What I have liked about this development and the Lyddington development is that they have become a catalyst for villages and towns across the UK wanting to achieve real broadband Internet on a par with the cities.

What is happening with rural broadband access

Tree on a country propertyAny of you who are regular readers of this site or who subscribe to it will have seen regular articles on activity concerning improvement of broadband Internet service in rural areas. Previously, I have written a post about why I stand for proper Internet service in the countryside and cover it in this site.

But I have observed activities that have raised the standard of rural Internet service in certain areas where there has been lively and competitive trading environment for Internet service. These range from local startups who offer to raise the bar for Internet in a country town to governments putting their hand to the plough for real broadband in the country.

Why rural broadband service

Farmers and small business in rural areas

Primarily farmers and small-business owners would benefit from proper broadband in the country. This is due to more of the business being transacted online such as the use of e-government services as part of managing livestock on the farm.

There is also the desire to be competitive with urban businesses or, in the case of farming, be responsive to customer and partner needs very quickly.

A motel that can offer public-access Internet as a competitive edge

Motels like this one can offer Wi-Fi hotspots as a competitive edge

It also extends to hospitality businesses like hotels, motels, cafes and restaurants in these areas who want to offer public-access Internet service as a way of offering “that bit extra”. This would encompass resorts created around mountains or water features like ski resorts or lakeside resorts.

Similarly, education institutions who have rural campuses can benefit from real broadband Internet as a study and research tool. This could lead to universities and the like enriching the town with research-driven business.

Country living

The countryside is infact considered an ideal place to live due to a slower pace of life. As well, some parts of the country are particular areas of attraction for this class of living due to features of natural beauty like water features, forests or mountains.

An increasing number of urban-based people visit the country as a holiday destination or even move there. Here they would benefit from the same standard of broadband as they have in the city so they can communicate with relatives or friends there.

Similarly, the appeal of telecommuting wound go in hand with the country life as people can head in to the city only when they need to conduct business meetings. This would appeal to semi-retired people who are reducing their time in the main office.

Peri-urban areas

I am also encompassing peri-urban rural areas as well as the typical rural areas that are a distance away from major towns in the scope of this article. These are typically farming districts, areas of outstanding natural beauty or areas surrounding classic monuments that abut a major city; but are sparsely populated compared to the major city.

The people who live in the major city see these places as being a destination for a day trip and a lot of business in these areas is boosted by the tourists from the major city. Some of these areas, especially those focused around areas of outstanding beauty also attract retirees or other people who are “done with the city” as a place of residence, although it doesn’t take them long to travel to town when they need to visit it.

Examples of these in Australia are the Yarra Valley Wine District and the Dandenongs in Melbourne; the Blue Mountains in Sydney and Barwon Heads in Geelong. In France, there would be the wine regions surrounding some of the major cities like Bordeaux.

Action that has been undertaken on this front

Local initiatives

A major form of action that I have noticed is initiatives that are driven by local government and business. This has commonly occurred in broadband-improvement rollouts that are funded by local councils and / or facilitated by small local telecommunications firms or ISPs.

The best examples are the UK developments where local broadband service providers are formed or regional broadband service providers plough effort into “switching on” particular parishes. There are intense local awareness campaigns run by these small broadband service providers to solicit interest from the residents and business owners; and they will manifest in the form of offline and online promotions; including town-hall meetings.

In some of the UK deployments, there has been the use of local “sweat equity” for assisting in the establishment of fibre trunks as well as local landowners setting up easements for these fibre trunks.

Similarly local governments in the UK and France have provided seed money to the broadband initiatives. These are usually to make the towns attract more investment as well as to ignite local “e-government” initiatives.

National assistance

Defining universal-service obligations

Some countries are taking action to define a minimum broadband Internet service standard to be available across their territories. This is akin to the universal service standards that have been applied to electricity and telephone services.

Here, this may be achieved through extending the remit of the universal telephone service, including collecting monies associated with its provision, to the broadband Internet service.

National and international funding

This also leads to national governments funding broadband-service improvement; usually as part of an Internet-service improvement for the nation.as In Europe, for example, the nations also receive handouts from the European Union in Brussels towards facilitating these improvements.

In some countries like Australia and the UK, the upgrading of the telecommunications backbone to fibre-optic technology and the provision of fibre-based infrastructure close to or reaching the customer is considered a major driver for rural-broadband improvement. The use of public resources for this kind of upgrade has often beem met with derision by various conservative groups because they would rather see it all left in the hands of private enterprise.

Technology

Some of the technology is based on what is being used to established the “next-generation broadband” Internet services and is being used as a way of catering to the growth of these rural areas and the changing data transfer needs.

Fibre-to-the-cabinet technology

This typically creates a high-speed fibre-optic backbone to one or more street cabinets located close to customer clusters.The customers have the phone connections linked to this cabinet and the Internet service is delivered via ADSL2 or VDSL2 technology over these phone services.They may have the regular telephone provided via the town’s exchange, a sub-exchange in the street cabinet or VoIP technology.

In some situations, this technique has been used as an “ADSL2 booster” effort by bringing a higher-throughput ADSL2 service to customers who, by virtue of distance to the exchange, would receive lower throughput service or no service at all.

This also opens up a path for offering fibre-to-the-premises next-generation broadband Internet to customers in these towns, either as a service differentiator or as an upgrade path. It also provides for service growth especially if a town acquires a major employer and sees its capacity grow.

Fibre-optic trunks

A fibre-optic trunk line that passes country areas may be treated like a natural-gas pipeline passing these areas. Here, branch lines or “spurs” are connected to the trunk line and used to serve local communities; while the trunk serves cities that are at each end of the line.

This is seen as a way to establish a next-generation broadband Internet service in to the neighbouring towns in a cost-effective manner.

Terrestrial wireless and “white space” spectrum

Another technology that is exciting the prospects of real broadband to the country is the concept of terrestrial wireless. These setups are typically fixed-wireless links that serve individual households or, in some cases, communities or household clusters, with a wired technology like ADSL2 or Ethernet linking to each customer.

Initially this technology was based on 2.4GHz or similar radio links but there is a new break being facilitated at the moment and it is known as “white space”. This is where UHF or, in some cases, Band III VHF, TV spectrum that has been vacated by TV broadcasters as they change to spectrum-efficient digital TV technology.

Governments are looking at using this bandwidth as a cost effective way to provide terrestrial-wireless Internet service to country areas where it would be difficult or cost-prohibitive to provide copper or fibre-optic wireline Internet service. Examples of this kind of setup would be mountains or islands.

This will typically end up as a fixed-wireless deployment with a modem connected to the aerial (antenna) which would most likely be a high-gain TV aerial. This modem would be connected to a broadband router to serve the home network installed at homes in these locations.

Issues to be looked at

A key issue to be looked at in relation to providing a proper broadband Internet service to the country is the decrepit telephony infrastructure that exists in these areas. This is something that I have seen for myself with people who have lived in the country or peri-urban areas as they experienced ADSL service that performed poorly or became less reliable.

Here, telephone companies have historically allowed the telephony infrastructure to perform just enough for voice traffic. As well, due to long cable runs, it has become cost-prohibitive to always renew this telephone wiring to the customer’s door. In some cases, monopoly telephony carriers have allowed the telephony infrastructure to become severely derelict, with callers experiencing poor-quality telephone conversations where they hear crackling or crosstalk.

Dial-up modems and fax machines have worked to what was expected of these phone lines, usually using error-correction methods as part of the data transmission protocols.

ADSL broadband has put a newer requirement on the phone lines due to the bandwidth decreasing as the distance increases. In some cases, newer wiring has effectively increased the performance of the telephone system as far as ADSL service is concerned. On the other hand older and decaying connections would impair the telephone circuit’s ADSL performance, even causing the ADSL signal to drop out. This is even though you could successfully make or take a telephone call on that same line.

What needs to happen if ADSL broadband is being rolled out in to a rural area, the telephone lines need to be checked for quality and reliability. This includes checking connections for quality and reliability; and that ADSL line-distance metrics need to be true to the phone service’s distance from the exchange.

It also includes re-assessing telephone systems whenever newer building developments take place; which can happen over a town’s lifespan. It also includes situations where a neighbouring town becomes larger and the current area becomes a suburb of the neighbouring town.

Conclusion

There have been some positive steps taken by different parties to make the idea of real broadband Internet service in the country a reality. This includes encompassing it as part of defining the minimum requirements for an Internet service.