Closing the digital divide remains a challenge for U.S. policymakers. Especially if we put the focus on rural areas. Data such as those collected by the Census Bureau corroborate this:
- In 287 of the country’s most rural counties, less than 70% of households have high-speed Internet access.
- In 70 counties in the most rural areas, less than 60% of households had a broadband subscription.
- Four of the five counties with the lowest levels of broadband access (below 40%) are in the most rural areas of the country.
- In contrast, the household broadband access rate was below 70% in only 23 counties in large metropolitan areas.
To improve these figures and close the digital divide, the U.S. government has allocated $65 billion in what is known as The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which embraces a series of key measures to improve the country’s competitiveness in various aspects, including high-speed Internet connectivity.
Most of the actions will focus on bringing fiber optic networks to rural areas. However, that’s not all there is to it. Here, it’s very important to pay attention to the “last mile” of connectivity. That is to say, delivery to actual users, which requires a combination of Wi-Fi and mobile networks as a continuity of fiber deployments.
With it, providers can truly value their services so that their customers can be trained remotely, telework, be entertained and receive communications from municipal authorities.
What Galgus offers to bridge the digital divide in the U.S.
The United States has expanded the wireless spectrum available for Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi 6E) and is continuously innovating to make more efficient use of it, as we will see in the near future with Wi-Fi 7.
To achieve this, telecom providers need a partner for this critical last mile of connectivity to deliver the true value of their network investment to their customers. Galgus is poised to be that partner.
In locations where providing good service and support is difficult, Galgus’ artificial intelligence-based algorithms and systems enable automatic management of resources based on the environment and network usage. With a network suitable for the most remote locations, Galgus technology simplifies processes, streamlines deployments and reduces the expense of deploying and maintaining quality Wi-Fi.
Another of the most disruptive elements of this technology lies in the geolocation of devices that are under the network’s area of influence, including unconnected devices and those with random MAC addresses.
This Location Analytics solution, which the prestigious consulting firm Gartner has recognized as globally disruptive, provides companies, schools, municipalities and transportation operators with a detailed understanding of how their customers interact with their services and user experience.
In addition, with Galgus’ Passpoint-enabled Galgus Connect service, brands are able to accelerate their digital engagement strategies by automatically connecting their most loyal customers’ devices to their Wi-Fi networks.
It supports the Wireless Broadband Alliance’s Open Roaming service to offer seamless roaming and mobile data offloading, enabling providers to keep up with wireless consumer demands and network owners to monetize their investment through commercial roaming and subscriber analytics agreements.
Wi-Fi for any environment and industry
Galgus has a great deal of experience in the sector and has many customers and partners who have relied on its services for the most challenging environments.
For example, we have the commercial aerospace and rail industries, where a bad user experience can mean huge losses for companies. Service providers such as Panasonic Avionics, Renfe and Alstom have integrated Galgus solutions into their Wi-Fi networks with a high level of satisfaction.
It’s also important to highlight transportation centers, such as Barcelona Sants railway station, where the demand for connection is growing enormously, or soccer stadiums, such as Real Betis Balompié, where the media need to upload multimedia content during matches.
The use of Galgus solutions on commercial networks and in hotels has served to prove their ability to offer a fast, robust, and secure connection, while providing managers with valuable data and analytics to better understand their visitors, users and customers and deliver personalized actions and campaigns.
What’s more, the deployments that Galgus has made in schools and educational centers represent a giant step towards new models of education, oriented towards the use of digital resources.
Network operators such as Telefónica have worked with Galgus to help bridge the digital divide in rural areas of Spain. Moreover, retail operators, including Italy’s Netoip, use Galgus to better understand their customers and provide a reliable basis for their digital engagement strategies.
