Broadband Adoption Rise in Rural Communities Using Rail Tracks
Dr. Bo Yu
KEY INTERESTS
Resilience using probablistic reasoning; Privacy and security of healthcare information; Wireless security
AFFILIATIONS/APPOINTMENTS
Research Faculty, George Mason University
ACADEMIC DEGREES
PhD, Information Technology, George Mason University
BROADBAND ADOPTION RISE IN RURAL COMMUNITIES USING RAIL TRACKS
Despite the rise of broadband adoption in rural communities in the past decade, there still are broadband-related gaps between rural and non-rural communities in various areas, such as infrastructure, performance, competition, etc. However, the lack of broadband in rural areas is one of the most striking inequalities in US society, demanding new solutions. Providing connectivity to populations living in rural areas is often viewed as cost prohibitive, especially in some regions in which there may be only a few houses within a given region. Concurrently, new freight rail technologies and safety applications require uninterrupted connectivity, which requires to build and improve their communication networks. This project explores the potential to leverage this freight rail infrastructure to increase access to broadband internet for those living in rural communities, resulting in a framework of designing a co-development Fiber Optic Cable network along railways for affordable broadband connectivity in rural areas and working designs for several rural area in the country with capabilities to expand.