Introduction

This book investigates how broadband internet can be provided to remote and isolated communities through the use of satellite and other enabling technologies, in the form of a self-contained broadband apparatus. It discusses how the proposed design can help bridge the digital divide by removing one of the main hurdles to adopting technologies: infrastructure. In turn, the book explores how the lack of infrastructure, especially with regard to connectivity and electricity, can be addressed by exploiting new technological advances in a number of fields, notably the newly proposed large broadband satellite constellations. In closing, it uses concrete examples to demonstrate the potential positive impacts of a “broadband ecosystem” on economics, governance and society, and on achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.