Municipal Broadband Networks and their role in upgrading education broadband services Christos Bouras Research Academic Computer Technology Institute Broadband Education Services, June 2009, Crete, Greece

2 Broadband Education Services, June 2009, Crete, Greece Outline e-Learning –Definition –Types –Benefits –Problems Broadband (the solution) –Broadband in Greece –Broadband strategy in Greece –Municipal broadband networks - Call 93

3 Broadband Education Services, June 2009, Crete, Greece e-Learning e-Learning is a type of technology supporting education / learning where the medium of instruction is through computer technology, particularly involving digital technologies –The worldwide e-learning industry is constantly increasing –The supported applications become more and more demanding –The number of students participate in online classes increases e-Learning has high bandwidth requirements –Live audio-visual communication –Rich and high-quality (multi-)media (e.g. video) –Access to intensive simulations’ results

4 Broadband Education Services, June 2009, Crete, Greece Types of e-Learning Asynchronous –Services Online Courses Discussion boards Presentations Webinars Video (streaming, on-demand, etc.) Synchronous –Services Chat Audio Conference Video Conference 3D Virtual Environments –(Harvard University delivers online courses through Virtual Environments) Higher bandwidth requirements

5 Broadband Education Services, June 2009, Crete, Greece e-Learning Content Rich media –Webcasts –Videos –Simulations –3D content –Images (high quality) –Audio (high quality) Bandwidth is one of the most critical factors

6 Broadband Education Services, June 2009, Crete, Greece e-Learning Benefits Bring the classroom to the students Bring more things to the classroom Live, interactive, anywhere Reduce faculty travel Substitute professors when necessary Faculty can teach while traveling

7 Broadband Education Services, June 2009, Crete, Greece Why e-Learning… Allow learning for remote areas and/or undeveloped areas Can allow “virtual” laboratories –All schools can acquire virtual laboratories for all courses –e-Learning constitutes an economical solution against real laboratories Lack of available space –Virtual laboratories for all courses can be found in the same room

8 Broadband Education Services, June 2009, Crete, Greece Problem definition Some places still at dial-up speeds Still expensive Too slow for many applications

9 Broadband Education Services, June 2009, Crete, Greece The Solution Broadband is the solution to the problems and limitations –Provides Faster Connections –Supports more applications Video (SD and HD) Interactive rich media High resolution graphics

10 Broadband Education Services, June 2009, Crete, Greece Why Broadband… Recently, fast progress in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) has favoured new operational models and introduced significant changes both at national and global financial levels The supporting base for the competitiveness of a State in today’s high technology environment actually consists of advanced and high quality network infrastructures, reasonably priced, that are available to the majority of the population and provide users with always-on connectivity at sufficient speed …Broadband access networks, from a technological aspect, can meet all these modern requirements.

11 Broadband Education Services, June 2009, Crete, Greece Broadband…

12 Broadband Education Services, June 2009, Crete, Greece Broadband in Greece The development of broadband infrastructures and services is of strategic importance for Greece During the last four years, Greece has been pursuing its ICT diffusion objectives through an horizontal Operational Programme for the “Information Society”. The implementation of projects under the Operational Program includes the possibility of offering broadband access to all citizens in all sectors of public and private life. Greece moves swiftly and efficiently towards the attainment of this objective.

13 Broadband Education Services, June 2009, Crete, Greece Broadband strategy in Greece

14 Broadband Education Services, June 2009, Crete, Greece Calls 93, 145 and 195 Finances for the implementation of Metropolitan Optical Fibre Networks These networks, interlink the buildings of the state, local authorities, and public agencies in their respective municipality (Governance, Education, Health, Culture) The project includes the installation of fibre optics, the creation of points of interconnection and the installation of passive and active network equipment that is required for providing the basic access as well as points of wireless access.

15 Broadband Education Services, June 2009, Crete, Greece Targets of Call 93

16 Broadband Education Services, June 2009, Crete, Greece The 75 ΜΑΝs of Calls 93 & 145

17 Broadband Education Services, June 2009, Crete, Greece Region of Western Greece 8 MANs in the Region of Western Greece 1.Municipality of Agrinio 2.Municipality of Aigio 3.Municipality of Amaliada 4.Municipality of Mesologgi 5.Municipality of Nafpaktos 6.Municipality of Oiniades 7.Municipality of Patras 8.Municipality of Pyrgos Municipality of Agrinio - Budget : € ,00 - Trenches’ Length : 18,157 Km (Χ1: m - Χ3: 4525 m) - Nodes : Main : 2 Distribution : 3 Access : 7 -End Points : 44 (44 optical, 0 wireless) Municipality of Aigio - Budget : € ,10 - Trenches’ Length : 8435 m (Χ1: 4233 m - Χ3: 4202m) - Nodes : Main : 1 Distribution : 2 Access : 4 -End Points : 37 (35 optical, 2 wireless) Municipality of Amaliada - Budget : € ,00 - Trenches’ Length : 6965 m (Χ1: 5400 m - Χ3: 1565 m) - Nodes : Main : 1 Distribution : 2 Access : 4 -End Points : 24 (24 optical, 0 wireless) Municipality of Mesologgi - Budget : € ,49 - Trenches’ Length : 13,048 Km (Χ1: 6794 m - Χ3: 6254 m) - Nodes : Main : 1 Distribution : 2 Access : 6 -End Points : 56 (52 optical, 4 wireless) Municipality of Nafpaktos - Budget : € ,90 - Trenches’ Length : 6,648 Km (Χ1: 5218 m - Χ3: 1430 m) - Nodes : Main : 1 Access : 5 -End Points : 27 (23 optical, 4 wireless) Municipality of Oiniades - Budget : € ,40 - Trenches’ Length : 3,448 Km (Χ1: m - Χ3: 317 m) - Nodes : Main : 1 Access : 3 -End Points : 20 (8 optical, 12 wireless) The smallest MAN in GREECE Municipality of Patras - Budget : € ,42 - Trenches’ Length : 54 Km (Χ1: m - Χ3: m) - Nodes : Main : 4 Distribution : 6 Access : 20 -End Points : 177 (152 optical, 25 wireless) The biggest MAN in GREECE Municipality of Pyrgos - Budget : € ,38 - Trenches’ Length : 9,791 Km (Χ1: 8176 m - Χ3: 1615 m) - Nodes : Main : 1 Distribution : 2 Access : 7 - End Points : 29 (29 optical, 0 wireless)

18 Broadband Education Services, June 2009, Crete, Greece An Example… MAN of Agrinio: 44 end users, 20 of which are schools

19 Broadband Education Services, June 2009, Crete, Greece Target Provide broadband education, awareness, training, access, equipment to: –Schools, libraries, healthcare providers, institutions of higher education and other community support organizations to facilitate greater use of broadband –Organizations that provide outreach, access, equipment and support services to facilitate greater use of broadband by low- income, unemployed and vulnerable populations

20 Broadband Education Services, June 2009, Crete, Greece Municipal broadband and the educational sector Universities, Technological Education Institutes, and schools are the first to make real use of the municipal broadband networks built For schools it will be a real upgrade to their connectivity, and a move to true broadband experience –Universities and Technological Education Institutes, already enjoy high-bandwidth connectivity, but the use of the municipal broadband infrastructure is going to cut down the costs The demand for broadband connections and a lot of services are already there. –These are the reasons that schools are going to make a effective use of the broadband infrastructure provided

21 Broadband Education Services, June 2009, Crete, Greece Plans for the future The Greek State aims to co-finance and support the deployment of Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) infrastructure to Athens, and Thessaloniki (greater areas), and 54 other major cities in Greece. The infrastructure will allow the use of demanding e- learning services not only from school but also from home This opens new opportunities both for developing novel e-learning approaches and innovative applications

22 Broadband Education Services, June 2009, Crete, Greece

23 Broadband Education Services, June 2009, Crete, Greece Questions ?

24 Broadband Education Services, June 2009, Crete, Greece THANK YOU! Christos Bouras Computer Engineering and Informatics Department, University of Patras, Greece & Research Academic Computer Technology Institute, Patras, Greece (