What is it about?
Broadband Internet has become a critical infrastructure, transforming communication, work, education, commerce, and entertainment, with over 60% of personal and social activities now relying on reliable connectivity. This paper examines global broadband deployment, technology trends, functional and technical challenges, and societal impacts, and addresses their intersections with big data, priority access technologies, and individual and collective outcomes. The study advances prior surveys by providing an explicit sustainability (long-term environmental balance) framework that treats energy efficiency and environmental impact as core evaluation criteria and links broadband growth to balanced sustainable development. It integrates social-impact analysis, cataloging six positive and six adverse effects—ranging from education and economic opportunity to privacy risks and social isolation—tied to technical and policy levers. A comprehensive multi-criteria comparison of wired and wireless technologies is presented across fifteen functional, technical, and sustainability dimensions, offering a unified benchmark for planning.
Featured Image
Photo by Mark Fletcher-Brown on Unsplash
Why is it important?
Key findings highlight the importance of hybrid architectures combining wired, wireless, and satellite networks, the persistence of the digital divide, and the need to mitigate negative social impacts while enabling equitable access. Ten forward-looking, user- and operator-centric spatio-temporal strategies are proposed to optimize global broadband performance, enhance sustainability, and ensure inclusive development. By bridging technical, policy, and social considerations, this study provides a framework for policymakers, network operators, and stakeholders to guide future broadband expansion and maximize its societal, economic, and technological benefits.
Perspectives
Broadband Internet is not just a utility—it is a strategic enabler of global digital transformation. Coordinated technological, policy, and societal interventions are essential to ensure sustainable, equitable, and resilient broadband networks that foster innovation, social development, and digital inclusion. The recommended actions are summarized as follows: 1. Expand affordable access. Invest in rural and remote infrastructure and encourage public–private partnerships. 2. Promote digital literacy and inclusion. Provide training programs, relevant content, and skill development opportunities. 3. Strengthen privacy, security, and data governance. Implement robust protections while enabling innovation. 4. Adopt user- and operator-centric strategies. Optimize network performance while reducing negative social impacts. 5. Support emerging technology integration. Plan networks for IoT, 6G, AI-driven services, and edge/fog/cloud computing. 6. Address technical challenges. Improve hybrid network integration, satellite–terrestrial systems, virtualized fiber–wireless networks, and dynamic spectrum reuse, considering energy efficiency, connection density, and rural connectivity. Steps for researchers and practitioners to improve sustainable broadband Internet are as follows: 1. Use the 10 proposed strategies as an operational checklist. Translate each conceptual strategy into actionable pilots, organized into policy and operator domains. 2. Run mixed-method pilots. Combine technical metrics and social surveys—for example, an FMC + V-FiWi pilot in a mid-sized city measuring latency, spectrum usage, costs, and civic engagement. Subsidize pilots through programs similar to BEAD or Project Gigabit, or via R&D grants. 3. Measure both technical and social outcomes. Track throughput, latency, and coverage alongside social indicators such as digital inclusion and civic participation, to ensure connectivity improves welfare while mitigating potential harms.
Dr. Shahriar Shirvani Moghaddam
Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Sustainable Broadband Internet: Current Status & Future Directions, IEEE Access, January 2025, Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE),
DOI: 10.1109/access.2025.3638684.
You can read the full text:
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
