Feasibility, Architecture and Cost Considerations of Using TVWS for Rural Internet Access in 5G

The cellular technology is mostly an urban technology that has been unable to serve rural areas well. This is because the traditional cellular models are not economical for areas with low user density and lesser revenues. In 5G cellular networks, the coverage dilemma is likely to remain the same, thus widening the rural-urban digital divide further. It is about time to identify the root cause that has hindered the rural technology growth and analyse the possible options in 5G architecture to address this issue. We advocate that it can only be accomplished in two phases by sequentially addressing economic viability followed by performance progression. We deliberate how various works in literature focus on the later stage of this ‘two-phase’ problem and are not feasible to implement in the first place. We propose the concept of TV band white space (TVWS) dovetailed with 5G infrastructure for rural coverage and show that it can yield cost-effectiveness from a service provider’s perspective

Iot Camera System For Monitoring Strawberry Fields

A wireless imaging system for monitoring strawberry fields provides enough quality image data for computer vision algorithms to make meaningful yield predictions. This report contains a design for a wireless sensor network modified with mesh networking techniques to extend coverage range and a solar energy harvesting system to improve sensor node lifetime. A two hop system with six nodes is implemented in a laboratory environment validating the communication systems integrity over an 800’ range. Moving from a primary battery system to solar energy harvesting increases the module lifetime indefinitely

Diseño de una red full mesh para zonas no interconectadas (ZNI)

In Colombia, in spite of technological and social advances, NIZ still exists in the national power grid; in adition that, in the third quarter of 2018, Internet penetration in the country was only 62%. In addition, it is institutionally found that the Mining and Energy Planning Unit -UPME- (by its acronym in Spanish) and the Institute of Planning and Promotion of Energy Solutions for the NIZ -IPSE- (by its acronym in Spanish) both entities attached to the Ministry of Mines and Energy, had to redirect their functions in order to identify, promote, foster, develop and implement effective energy solutions. The above motivated the present investigation -whose results are described in this paper - with the fundamental objective of mitigating two shortcomings: electrical interconnection and internet connection in villages and municipalities of NIZ located in Caquetá department. Consequently, a full mesh network connected to Internet is designed and simulated at one of its points, together with a photovoltaic system to supply these electrical energy nodes. The measurement results of the parameters on the nodes allow the proper selection of high throughput radio links, providing Internet access for training purposes, education and trade opening, in rural NIZ.En Colombia, a pesar de los avances tecnológicos y sociales, aún existen ZNI a la red eléctrica nacional; a esto se adiciona que, en el tercer trimestre del año 2018, la penetración del internet en el país fue de apenas del 62%. Además, institucionalmente se encuentra que la Unidad de Planeación Minero Energética –UPME- y el Instituto de Planificación y Promoción de Soluciones Energéticas para las ZNI –IPSE- ambas entidades adscritas al Ministerio de Minas y Energía, debieron reorientar sus funciones con el objeto de identificar, promover, fomentar, desarrollar e implementar soluciones energéticas efectivas. Lo anterior motivó la presente investigación -cuyos resultados se describen en este artículo- con el objetivo fundamental de mitigar dos falencias: interconexión eléctrica y conexión a internet en veredas y cabeceras municipales de ZNI ubicadas en el departamento de Caquetá. En consecuencia, se diseña y simula una red full mesh conectada a internet en uno de sus puntos, junto con un sistema fotovoltaico para abastecer estos nodos de energía eléctrica. Los resultados de la medición de los parámetros sobre los nodos permiten seleccionar adecuadamente radio enlaces de alto throughput, proporcionando acceso a internet para propósitos de capacitación, educación y apertura de comercio, en ZNI rurales

A Channel Assignment and Routing Algorithm for Energy Harvesting Multi-Radio Wireless Mesh Networks

Wireless mesh networks are being deployed all around the world both to provide ubiquitous connection to the Internet and to carry data generated by several services (video surveillance, smart grids, earthquake early warning systems, etc.). In those cases where fixed power connections are not available, mesh nodes operate by harvesting ambient energy (e.g., solar or wind power) and hence they can count on a limited and time-varying amount of power to accomplish their functions. Since we consider mesh nodes equipped with multiple radios, power savings and network performance can be maximized by properly routing flows, assigning channels to radios and identifying nodes/radios that can be turned off. Thus, the problem we address is a joint channel assignment and routing problem with additional constraints on the node power consumption, which is NP-complete. In this paper, we propose a heuristic, named minimum power channel assignment and routing algorithm (MP-CARA), which is guaranteed to return a local optimum for this problem. Based on a theoretical analysis that we present in the paper, which gives an upper bound on the outage probability as a function of the constraint on power consumption, we can guarantee that the probability that a node runs out of power with MP-CARA falls below a desired threshold. The performance of MP-CARA is assessed by means of an extensive simulation study aiming to compare the solutions returned by MP-CARA to those found by other heuristics proposed in the literature.Publicad

Post-peak ICT: graceful degradation for communication networks in an energy constrained future

In recent years, rising energy prices and increasing environmental concerns have boosted research in the so called green ICT and green networking research tracks, aimed at improving the energy efficiency of communications while still offering maximal functionality. In this article we explore a future scenario in which low power networking is no longer optional, but instead becomes a necessity due to fluctuating energy availability. The contribution of this work is twofold. First, we argue why a so called post-peak future scenario, in which we can no longer rely on fossil fuels as our main resource for electricity production, is not unlikely, and what it might entail. Second, we explore the consequences of such a scenario for ICT: How well can current and future infrastructures cope with temporary energy limitations? As an illustration, we present a case study showing the impact of reduced energy availability on a wireless access network