It is not unreasonable to ask, “Why is the OPLAN model beginning to emerge around the world as the favoured model for delivering local connectivity?”
The telephone, given to the world by Alexander Graham Bell over a hundred years ago, proved beyond any shadow of doubt, that ‘conversation’ is the very stuff of human life. More recently, the staggering growth of the internet is further demonstrating the natural and near insatiable appetite that communities, households, businesses and individuals have on a global level to “converse” - to be ‘creators’ of content and value as well as ‘consumers’.
This potential for ‘conversation’ over the internet is entirely due to its ‘open’ nature - where ‘a-bit-is-a-bit-is-a-bit’. The development of OPLANs is taking place as communities and cities (especially the public sector) want to derive similar benefits within and throughout their locale as well as affording ‘open access’ to all and any service provider beyond the confines of the local community. The combination of ‘open’ and passive local infrastructure, coupled with the possibility of local and global content and applications generated and consumed by anyone with the imagination and enterprise to do so, has tremendous potential to stimulate and promote new ways and enhance existing ways of:- wealth creation and economic development
- equipping creative talent with local and global reach to an audience
- delivering health care throughout the community – not just supporting its administration
- bringing learning and teaching into new productive proximity
- exploiting connectivity to enhance the quality of life (e.g. ‘intelligent traffic management)
- bringing competitive advantage over other communities lacking open access connectivity
- enhancing environmental and social sustainability
- delivering public sector savings and enhancement of customer-centric service delivery