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A RESEARCH DESIGN FOR BROADBAND PROPAGATION. D. LINDA GARCIA DIRECTOR COMMUNICATION, CULTURE & TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY. INTRODUCTION. What is CCT? Commitment to multidisciplinary research Breadth and depth of students’ experience and talents International perspective.
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A RESEARCH DESIGN FOR BROADBAND PROPAGATION D. LINDA GARCIA DIRECTOR COMMUNICATION, CULTURE & TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
INTRODUCTION • What is CCT? • Commitment to multidisciplinary research • Breadth and depth of students’ experience and talents • International perspective
THE CCT/BPG COLLABORATION • Original collaboration with Georgetown University Information Services on Open Source Conference • Genesis of this project • Organization of University Broadband Research Project Seminar
YOUR MISSION/OUR ROLE • BPG aims for the ubiquitous propagation of affordable broadband for • Research institutions • Everyone else • CCT aims to serve as the social science think tank to explore the role and importance (or not) of broadband in universities and research institutions
QUESTIONS THAT COME TO MIND • Is this a deployment problem requiring investment and funding? • Is this a diffusion problem requiring greater demand and usage? • Is this a market problem requiring policy solutions? • Is this a society problem requiring social innovations?
RURAL ANALOGY • Regional Rural Portals: A Technology Based Solutions to the Urban-Rural Divide • Paradigm shift in looking at the use of IT networks for development in rural areas • Communication conceived as a means to an end, not a commodity. • The community, not the individual, is the user. • Network design is a critical factor.
Designing for the Situation at Hand--The Urban-Rural Divide • A Geographic Disadvantage • Market Failures • Thin Institutions • A Technology Gap
A Technology Based Solution: The Regional Rural Portal • Today’s flexible architecture permits customized designs. • A virtual industrial district built on a regional scale • Designed to strengthen both vertical and horizontal ties • Create a ‘learning region’ by generating institutional thickness.
APPLYING THE ANALOGY TO BPG AGENDA • What is the role of the university, and its needs with respect to broadband? • Are universities being equally served, and if not at what cost. • What are the opportunities for social innovations, linking like users with congruent needs. • What entrepreneurial roles might universities play • What are the market/policy barriers to innovation.
BUILDING A RESEARCH DESIGN • Scope of the problem • Where are the gaps in geography? • Where are the gaps caused by affordability? • What are the opportunity costs of the gaps? • Where broadband is available and affordable for research institutions, what are the optimized uses of it? • Case studies • What is the public interest in filling the gaps? • Are broadband needs of universities qualitatively different from other users’ needs? • What kinds of creative solutions might be applied?