3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item The effects of Botswana's policy and regulatory frameworks on competion in the provision of broadband internet(2017) Pelaelo, Kenaope PhetogoA country’s policy and regulatory frameworks can be favourable or detrimental to competition amongst operators and service providers in a given market. This report presents the outcomes of an investigation conducted on Botswana’s broadband policy and regulatory frameworks, to determine their effects on competition in the provision of services. The study examined market liberalisation; open access to infrastructure networks; and initiatives for universal access to broadband Internet, exploring several components under each intervention. It reached the overall conclusion that policy and regulation in Botswana have enabled significant service-based competition in the broadband market, while remaining less favourable to facility-based competition. The study briefly explored the framework on open access to infrastructure networks in relation to the ladder of investment (LoI) theory, which is a theoretical underpinning of competition in telecommunications markets. It concluded that the framework does not take heed of the LoI theory, more so that its key assumption that infrastructure investment can be stimulated through systematic price regulation of facilities, such as local loop unbundling and Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNOs) access to networks owned by other operators, have not been applicable in Botswana. This is mainly because local loop unbundling and authorisation of MVNOs have never been implemented in the country. While the study calls for improvements to encourage facility-based competition as the most ideal form that is considered to have higher efficiency, it makes an argument for factors that may have constrained the country and made service-based competition a preferred route for most of the service providers. Qualitative research techniques have been employed, using semistructured interviews and document analysis to explore the focus area. Acknowledging that other factors such as population size and distribution; cost of infrastructure deployment; and choice of business models may have contributed to the key research conclusion, the study draws recommendations for the consideration of policy makers, the regulator and service providers. Keywords: Broadband Internet, policy, regulation, infrastructure, services, investment, service-based competition, facility-based competition, Botswana.Item Investigating motivational factors influencing broadband adoption and usage in South African low-income households(2018) Monyetsane, KopanoBroadband technology has been identified as a vital contributor to socio-economic development in South Africa. Hoverer, the rate of broadband adoption and usage in low-income households is lower as compared to middle and high-income households. Although there are studies that have presented motivational factors for broadband adoption in South Africa, there is little knowledge about how these motivational factors collectively influence the adoption and usage of broadband in low-income households and how they use the technology. To address this gap, this study investigated motivational factors that influence low-income households in South Africa to adopt and use broadband. An extended Model for Broadband Adoption (MBA) was derived from literature and used to provide the basis for the theoretical and conceptual framework for this study. The researcher then followed a phenomenological approach to collect qualitative data that was analysed using a computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS). The findings of this study show that the participants from low-income households used broadband everyday but only for basic applications and the high cost of data hindered increased usage. The findings further suggest that attitude, normative beliefs and control factors can have both positive and negative influence on the adoption and usage of broadband by low-income households. In addition, low-income households regarded broadband as a key element towards improving their livelihood and confirmed the lack of local content in most broadband platforms. The study recommends that policy makers, regulatory authorities and broadband service providers should consider adopting models such as the MBA to advance their understanding on the interactions between low-income households and broadband, in order to develop policy interventions and products that are relevant to the lived experience of low-income households. The study emphases further the importance of expediting policies and regulations that are meant to address the high cost of data to ensure that broadband adoption and usage is inclusive of all income groups in South Africa.Item Comparative study of a time diversity scheme applied to G3 systems for narrowband power-line communications(2016) Rivard, Yves-FrançoisPower-line communications can be used for the transfer of data across electrical net- works in applications such as automatic meter reading in smart grid technology. As the power-line channel is harsh and plagued with non-Gaussian noise, robust forward error correction schemes are required. This research is a comparative study where a Luby transform code is concatenated with power-line communication systems provided by an up-to-date standard published by electricit e R eseau Distribution France named G3 PLC. Both decoding using Gaussian elimination and belief propagation are imple- mented to investigate and characterise their behaviour through computer simulations in MATLAB. Results show that a bit error rate performance improvement is achiev- able under non worst-case channel conditions using a Gaussian elimination decoder. An adaptive system is thus recommended which decodes using Gaussian elimination and which has the appropriate data rate. The added complexity can be well tolerated especially on the receiver side in automatic meter reading systems due to the network structure being built around a centralised agent which possesses more resources.