Space-time internet demand dynamic: Future cities in the Brazilian telecommunication scenario

Abstract

The needs of the digital society, such as connectivity and accessibility, are altered according to the time and space. These space-time demand dynamics turn the telecommunications infrastructure investment planning into a major challenge. Thus, predicting the needs of a digital society in the near future is a complex task, as the market performance is fraught innovations with uncertainties. So, how does one converge the supply and demand needs, cited in an environment that is constantly innovating, such as the future cities? Understanding the supply and demand of internet market behavior should include both expectations and the development of a long-term solution. This paper presents an experimental research where a methodology is developed. For this, it seeks to understand the phenomena that constitutes to the internet demand behavior and to evaluate the space-time effects on its dynamics. The proposed method indicates that temporal effects in the internet impacts demand differently as the analyzed city is changed. The results show that space-time may have an influence on telecommunications infrastructure investment decisions. Thus, the investment decision-making process would maximize profit when space-time analyses are considered. The contribution to telecommunications investment planning methods, will involve the digital society universalization in future cities.