Изучение технологий доступа для широкополосной электросвязи (стр. 24 )

In addition, broadband networks can provide the agricultural community with many additional advantages. For example, broadband enables the creation of “Virtual Enterprise Zones” (VEZs). These are electronic markets for citizens and businesses that could reap benefits from government assistance. With broadband technology, more rural areas could immediately join existing VEZs or create new VEZs. Precision agriculture is another application made possible by broadband technology. With this, broadband can be used for yield monitoring, soil sample analysis and access to satellite imagery for weather patterns. The information can be stored off-site and analyzed by off-site experts and then relayed back to the farm.

Other applications, such as distance agriculture education and technical services via broadband technology, can assist with crop planning, pest management, input management of goods and equipment servicing. Tele-veterinary applications are also possible with broadband technology. Because of the high cost of door-to-door veterinary services and because many farmers often perform their own routine veterinary care, broadband can deliver more accurate information on health problems in animals and more vital information on insects more quickly. Virtual livestock auctions also are made possible with broadband technology because the potential number of buyers seeing animals increases without having to transport animals from location to location. Furthermore, broadband technology can assist farmers with distributing scarce resources efficiently and effectively in times of draught or crisis by enabling farmers to transmit information quickly about product stockpiles.

An additional application of broadband technology in the agricultural sector is using broadband connections to track the identity of agricultural commodities and products. In other words, broadband connections can be used to track the production and distribution chain of various commodities and products. This can be parti­cu­larly useful when products need to be recalled for health and safety concerns. In addition, broadband technology can play a role in protecting national security because it can make food tampering less effective by using product tracking to expose potential culprits.

In Canada, broadband tele­com­mu­ni­cation networks are being used to assist with farm management and electronic livestock auctions. In fact, over 60 per cent of the beef cattle sold in Quebec are now sold at electronic auctions. The selling cost for producers of grain-fed calves has dropped from CAD 11 to CAD 4 a head, thus increasing profit margins, and the animals do not have to be shipped twice – first to the auction site and then to the slaughterhouse.61

In a major step towards improving rural connectivity in Maharashtra, India, the state government has planned an integrated agricultural project using wireless in local loop (WLL) technology to provide extensive and dynamic information to farmers through internet and video-conferencing. Two pilot locations, at Baramati and Pabal, will have one WLL centre each. The proposed project will extend Internet access to surrounding villages within a 25 km radius. The villages in the vicinity of the WLL centres would be provided with Internet kiosks from where farmers can browse agriculture-related websites, download information on various agro tech­no­lo­gies, get meteorological information as well as disaster prevention management plan, pest incidents and remedies. Similarly, farmers will be able to access global and country-wide market information, various government schemes, facilities, agro-processing and marketing information, communicate directly with scientists and other farmers and utilize e-commerce in agriculture.62

One example of an agriculture portal is Agmarket, an Indian agriculture website that aims to establish a nation-wide information network for speedy collection and dissemination of market information for its efficient utilization.63 Agmarket offers com­put­erized data on market fees, market charges, total arrivals, arrivals by agencies, prices (variety wise / quality wise), storage, dispatches with destination, mode of transportation, costs, sold and unsold stocks, sources of supply with destination, method of sale and payment. It also ensures the flow of regular and reliable data to producers, traders and consumers to derive maximum benefit of their sales and purchases.

In the United States, the “Freedom to E-File Act” directs the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to make its programs accessible via the Internet. USDA officials estimate that up to two million farms could save, at minimum, the one-hour drive from the farm to government office building to fill out forms.”64 In addition, the 2002 U. S. Farm Bill included a specific section on the promotion of rural broadband tele­com­mu­ni­cation access. Section 601 states that the loans and loans guarantees should be provided to aid in the construction, improvement and acquisition of facilities and equipment for broadband tele­com­mu­ni­cation service in eligible rural communities. Up to USD 20 million will be made available for each of fiscal years 2002 through 2005, and USD 10 million each for fiscal years 2006 and 2007.

I.2.5        E-Learning

E-Learning is one of the most widely touted applications of broadband technology. Broadband technology enables students of all ages and from any geographic location to take advantage of educational opportunities in schools, universities and other kinds of educational institutions. Broadband can provide students the opportunity to see and interact with professors in real-time, collaborate on group projects when participants are located in different geographic locations, and give the poor, underprivileged, or disabled technology the opportunity to learn a multitude of subjects without the burden of costly and time-consuming travel to educational institutions. Many nations and localities have used broadband technology to provide distance-learning opportunities for their citizens. Below are several examples to illustrate some successful examples.

In Denmark, Sektornett65, which was established in 1993, is an electronic network for primary, lower and upper secondary schools, vocational schools and institutes of higher education. In addition to Internet access, a number of services are offered, primarily high-security Sektornett manager training at schools and technical 2002, there were more than 3 000 institutions on the Sektornett. Nearly all upper secondary schools, higher preparatory courses, adult education centres, vocational schools and institutes of higher education are now connected through broadband technology.

Also in Denmark, the Research Network (Forskningsnettet) was established in 1997 for the purpose of inter­con­necting Danish research institutions using high-speed transmission of text, sound, images and video. The Research Network supports applications such as videoconferencing, distance education and telemedicine.66

A virtual university in Pakistan is providing students with an opportunity to learn computer skills. The USD 40 million project provides distance learning using the television, video conferencing and Internet, and it is intended to train nearly 60,000 computer science graduates so that they can help develop an information technology industry in Pakistan. In order to control costs and make the program affordable, educational centres are being set up where students can view the courses and access the Internet.67

The Cisco Networking Academy Program evolved out of internal Cisco efforts to meet the training needs of students and teachers in schools being “wired”, having tele­com­mu­ni­cation networks installed, and being connected to the Internet. The Academy program focuses on training students in the skills necessary to design, implement and operate computer networks. It utilizes web-based learning to facilitate rapid evolution and dissemination of up-to-date curricula. It can also provide widespread availability of information on the strategy and the programs that support it. Currently, the Networking Academy program includes partnerships with many organizations, in addition to ITU, has been established in almost 8 500 locations in over 130 countries, including 28 of the UN’s officially designated Least Developed Countries.68

I.2.6        E-Tourism

Broadband enables people to “visit” tourist spots without having to travel long distances to see attractions in person. Broadband technology connections (video application in parti­cu­lar) can enable people to view art treasures, exhibits, historical landmarks and other types of tourist attractions. In addition, broadband technology can assist fans of sporting and other major events, like the World Cup or the Olympics, to “see” the events as they would in person in real time. This is parti­cu­larly useful for events that may be too far to travel to and where significant time-zone differences may not enable real-time viewing of these events.

I.2.7        E-Commerce

Electronic Commerce (E-Commerce) is the term associated with buying and selling products and services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. Recently, with widespread Internet usage, e-commerce has grown extraordinarily. E-commerce has become a general concept given the wide variety of applications that it enables including mobile banking, ticketing, coupons, payments and money transfers. E-commerce has witnessed steady growth, especially with the launch of high profile device launches including smartphones.

There has been a growth in sophisticated mobile web applications that resemble the full web experience equivalent to PC-based online shopping. Mobile banking in particular has proven to be extremely relevant in developing countries where banks seek to provide convenient services to bankers but face poor banking infrastructure (including poor fixed broadband network infrastructure).