With the rapid infrastructural expansions that we are accustomed to in the global telecoms industry, it is impossible to believe there are often a minority of consumers of telephony services who are consistently under-served.

Despite the meteoric growth of the Internet and broadband connectivity in the past two decades, about 49 per cent of the world’s population, or 3.7 billion people, were still offline and excluded from the direct benefits of the global digital economy at the end 2019. Further, over 750 million people (approximately 10 per cent of the global population) are not covered by mobile broadband (3G or higher) and this lack of coverage is particularly concentrated in rural and remote areas.

The estimated global telecom services market size was USD 1.66 trillion in 2020 and expected to reach USD 1.70 trillion in 2021. It is therefore underwhelming to find that companies are still hesitant to invest in extending coverage of mobile telephony services to rural environments and less densely populated remote areas, in the era of 3G and 4G.

Admittedly, this is a numbers game and most will point to the lack of long-term return on investment (ROI) of such novel ideas, averaging 6% globally, to validate their reluctance. However, where technological solutions can lower the CAPEX significantly and remove the business constraints, telecom companies should at least commit to the vision of universal access and inclusive economies.

Israel’s telecommunication sector is considered as one of the most sophisticated in the world, characterized by high mobile penetration, extensive R&D presence, high-level talent pool and strong service competition. It is, therefore, not a surprise to have some established and start-up Israeli communication technology companies leading the efforts to address the global Last Mile Connectivity challenge.

Find a few excellent solutions worth considering:

  • Comarcom is a well-established vendor of special antennas for Cellular Radio coverage enhancement solutions. This unique very high gain, narrow beam, dual polarization antennas called “Very High Gain Antennas (VEGA)” enables the Cellular Operator to extend and improve coverage of difficult-to-service areas at a far lower cost, covering remote communities, long roads, rails, ferry routes and long bridges.
  • MTI Wireless Edge Ltd is offering high quality, low cost, flat panel antennas for commercial applications such as WiMAX, Wireless Networking, RFID readers &, Broadband Wireless Access. With over 40 years’ experience of supplying antennas 100KHz to 90GHz, including directional antennas and Omni directional for outdoor and indoor deployments, as well as for Base Stations and Terminals – Utility Market.
  • Curvalux’s phased array multi beam system, designed specifically for operators and ISPs to provide highest fixed wireless broadband capacity for the last mile, rural and urban environments. Its revolutionary technological solutions provide the highest fixed wireless broadband capacity at the best ownership cost.
  • Gilat Satellite Networks is a leading global provider of satellite-based broadband communications. Gilat provides an assortment of communication solutions for both permanent and temporary sites, which include both fixed and mobile solutions.