The Most Difficult Areas of the World to Get Connectivity (and Why)

These days, most of us are increasingly accustomed to firing up our phones and seeing a full signal bar. It’s easy to forget that some areas still struggle to obtain strong, reliable connectivity, especially when it comes to achieving robust, enterprise-grade networking. Procurement assistance is a vital component of the Lightyear Telecom Operating System. One of the common triggers for human intervention is requests for quotes in underserved areas. Today, we'll briefly explore places across the globe that present the biggest challenges for sourcing connectivity and what makes these areas so difficult.

Typical Hot Spots for Poor Connectivity

Several common factors affect the availability of connectivity worldwide, whether we are talking about India or Idaho. Here are a few situations where it’s common to find difficulties sourcing and procuring solid internet connectivity:

Rural Areas

Almost all countries have a mix of urban, suburban, and rural communities. Building network is expensive, and rural areas with lower population density, even in populous countries, involve building network infrastructure at a high cost per subscriber which is often unattractive to service providers. Remember, telecommunications providers must achieve a return on investment (ROI) on their capital expenditures. Service providers face the initial expense of installing infrastructure, along with ongoing costs for operating and maintaining that infrastructure.

If there are not enough users or subscribers to justify these heavy capital expenses and provide a clear path to profitability (i.e., meeting ROI metrics), there’s little incentive for service providers to take on those expenses.

Urban and suburban areas usually have enough users and subscribers to satisfy those ROI metrics. Rural areas, on the other hand, challenge service providers due to their limited customer base. This makes it difficult to recoup capital expenditures, let alone show profit.

To address this issue, some countries offer subsidies to service providers to encourage them to extend connectivity to remote and rural areas. However, even with these subsidies, justifying the capital expenditure can still be challenging.

Remote Areas

Remote areas have a very similar dynamic to rural areas. With few residents, the demand for connectivity services is low, which increases the cost per user for telecommunications companies' infrastructure investments.

However, remote areas pose additional challenges. Even with a population seeking service, the geography can make it difficult for providers to deliver. These areas often have diverse and rugged landscapes that complicate infrastructure installation. Some of the most challenging remote areas include:

• Isolated islands

• The Arctic and Antarctic

• Dense forests and rainforests

• Desert areas

• Mountainous terrains

Political and Governmental Restrictions

Beyond physical and economic limitations, political climate and government policies impose additional restrictions in certain areas. A key issue is the presence of restrictive policies, such as efforts to limit user access to specific websites or services. Political turmoil and governmental instability can further exacerbate these challenges. As a result, finding reliable connectivity options in these regions becomes difficult. Some of the most challenging areas globally include:

• North Korea

• Cuba

• Ethiopia

• Venezuela

• Afghanistan

Additionally, counties with active conflict zones present challenges for obvious reasons. Some of the nations currently facing the most significant issues related to conflict include:

• Russia

• Ukraine

• South Sudan

• Syria

Tackling the Issue of Areas Underserved in Connectivity

Given these challenges, what can we do as the world increasingly relies on strong connectivity to thrive? Luckily, there is hope for underserved areas and businesses looking for a reliable emergency connectivity solution.

Firstly, satellite communications provide services to many underserved areas, with significant improvements made in this field. Lightyear has previously discussed the nuances of low Earth Orbit (LEO) and geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) satellite services for connectivity.

In the LEO space, Starlink continues to dominate, primarily due to market saturation. Now available in many parts of the globe, Starlink has over 4,000 satellites already in orbit and plans to deploy tens of thousands more. However, several competitors are attempting to build a network that will offer competitive alternatives to Starlink, including:

• OneWeb, a British company with over 600 satellites in orbit.

• Amazon’s Project Kuiper, which plans to deploy over 3,000 satellites and is expected to begin offering services in 2025. It will start in the United States and then expand globally.

There are already a few options to explore in the GEO space that may fit select use cases. You can learn more about the difference between LEO and GEO networks in our above blog and explore some specific use cases for LEO networks like Starlink. Currently, the two networks of most interest for GEO satellite connectivity are:

• Viasat, which primarily provides services in North America but has offerings in a few other parts of the world; and

• HughesNet, which primarily offers service in North and South America.

As satellite connectivity options expand, this newer telecommunications technology has great potential to address the connectivity issues of rural and remote areas and offer an easily deployable, independent network in areas of political turmoil. 

If you’re reading this blog because you are currently or have already faced challenges finding connectivity options that meet your needs, the Lightyear Telecom Operating System is here to help. The Lightyear Platform is connected to thousands of service providers and will perform an exhaustive search for service providers on your behalf. Why not try it?