While the scramble for broadband licences, spectrum, and target markets is well and truly on, very few people are stopping to think about the nuts and bolts of building and then operating and maintaining the physical infrastructure on which broadband will be delivered, says Howard Earley, Plessey Chief Operating Officer.

The Debate about long term evolution (LTE) and LTE extra will continue for a long time and while the WiMAX forum is still making its voice heard, it appears that a large chunk of the telecommunications industry has accepted that WiMAX is great for backhaul but that LTE will lead the mobility drive.

Rural Broadband: why it's so hard to do.