As the backbone of modern communication, communities rely on broadband connectivity to facilitate education, healthcare, social connection, and more. Feasibility studies help to ensure that broadband projects are optimally conducted and deployed, enabling communities to reap the full benefits of such technologies.
Here, we’ll cover feasibility studies and their frameworks. We’ll also look into how our specialized team at Irby Utilities can help you to make informed project decisions based on sound, systemic analyses.
What is a Feasibility Study?
The role of a broadband feasibility study is to assess the viability of a potential broadband project. It considers many project factors: economic status, local markets and influences, legal, and more.
A feasibility study helps to ensure the successful deployment of a broadband project by providing a technical analysis of its scope, challenges, regulatory compliance, intended outcome viabilities, and other related considerations. The network design level presented used in the feasibility study is aptly named the feasibility-level design, or FLD. Later in the process—and once the feasibility study is complete—the utility will move to the high- and low-level network designs. Let’s break this down.
Design Levels: What’s the difference between feasibility-level design (FLD), high-level design (HLD) and a low-level design (LLD)?
Feasibility-level design (FLD) is the first stage of design. FLD initiates the network blueprint, providing an initial framework for connectivity and layout. This is the only design level used during the feasibility study.
If the utility needs more information before reaching a decision, they will move to the high-level design (HLD). HLD refines this roadmap, offering key stakeholders a thorough overview of the network for informed decision-making. Once the decision to build broadband is confirmed, the low-level design (LLD) delves into the technical intricacies. LLD becomes the focal point for technical stakeholders such as engineers, equipping them with precise configurations, addressing schemes, and implementation guidelines.
In summary, FLD sets the stage during the feasibility study, HLD refines the plan for key decisions if needed, and LLD becomes the detailed blueprint for technical teams. Utilities often engage in FLD and HLD to assess the potential of deploying broadband and move to LLD when they’ve finalized the decision and are ready for detailed technical planning.
Vetting your Feasibility Study Provider
Beyond understanding a potential provider's experience, expertise and track record, there are four specific questions you should consider asking as part of your vetting process.
1) What are the number’s practical applications?
Decisions made via feasibility studies should be grounded in knowledge in addition to numerical data. Put differently, a thorough analysis should demonstrate if and how an objective can be achieved. To clearly define the meaning behind the numbers, your feasibility study should answer questions such as:
- How will the success of project components be measured?
- How will the project impact the local economy and community?
- What external factors may impact the projected outcomes and what can be done to mitigate these risks?
- How adaptable is the feasibility study to changing circumstances — particularly economically and technologically — and what mitigatory measures can be put in place?
Beyond providing clear project visibility and actionability, understanding the feasibility study’s practical implications works to help stakeholders understand the project’s and/or provider’s nuanced advantages and disadvantages and, in turn, make informed decisions that align with the provider’s best interests.
2) What are the long-term implications of the feasibility study?
Of all the factors that contribute toward the utility’s long-term profitability, material cost and quality of service are fundamental.
Material cost refers to the expenses of the project’s physical components, both the initial expenses incurred during the construction phases and the ongoing costs associated with maintenance and upgrading. As the cost of equipment, construction materials, and technology increases over time, a feasibility study should provide detailed and actionable projection insights into how these escalating costs may impact the project’s financial viability and sustainability.
Due to the competitive nature of the telecommunications industry, quality of service—and the planning thereof—acts as an influential contributor toward a project’s long-term sustainability.
Specifically, quality of service directly impacts a provider’s bottom line via its connection with customer satisfaction and loyalty. A feasibility study should, therefore, outline how the project will maintain and, over time, enhance the quality of service. This may include considering the service scalability, customer satisfaction metrics and KPIs, technological requirements, and the service standards of competitors, among other relevant factors.
3) How does our project compare to others?
You need to trust that your feasibility study provider will act in your best interest, and at times, this means they say no to unviable projects. Ask your provider:
- How your project compares to others.
- What type of projects they consider unviable, and why.
- What changes could make your project unfeasible.
If you can trust that your provider will advise against projects that pose significant risk or are unlikely to be successful, it demonstrates their commitment to your long-term success and increases trust when a “yes” occurs.
4) Have all factors been taken into consideration?
Your feasibility study provider should be able to tell you what data you can and can’t rely on, how the data was derived and, in turn, display its practical applications.
By providing an unbiased, comprehensive analysis of your proposed plan, the provider should clarify how all relevant factors weighed into the study’s formulation— encompassing economic, technological, environmental, regional, and social considerations.
Receive a Free, In-Depth Feasibility Study by Irby Utilities
Trust Irby Utilities to provide a comprehensive feasibility study to ensure your broadband project’s success.
When you partner with us, you gain:
- Data-driven results: As derived from an initial engineering deliverable, our feasibility studies aren’t based on generic presumptions or pre-canned figures. Instead, we believe in transparent analyses that provide accurate and reliable data.
- Collaborative process: Our approach is more than just a study; it’s a collaborative effort. We work closely with your team, taking into account local nuances, specific labor rates, prevailing wages, and other related, often overlooked factors.
- Transparent financial insights: We go beyond elementary calculations into detailed financial modeling. From interest rates and cost estimates to rate of return and average revenue per user, we provide a clear understanding of your project’s financial implications.
- Funding expertise: We offer extensive experience in securing funding, totaling over $175 million for our clients to date. We analyze available and potential grants and inform you of the options available.
By partnering with Irby Utilities, you gain a long-term committed partner — seeing your project through from initiation to completion and beyond through ongoing support. For these reasons and plenty more, we’ve gained a reputation for reliability and success across our 90-plus years in this space.
Book a free feasibility study by Irby Utilities today.