Solutions for wireless internet connectivity in remote and rural areas

Abstract. These days internet connectivity is listed in the basic needs of human habitat. Internet provides inevitable support in getting knowledge, professional and social connectivity, entertainment media, and in running majority of businesses. Human dependency on internet for efficient, proficient and time saving work has increased the demand of internet connectivity worldwide. The global index shows a percentage increase in internet users from 16% to 48% (of the world population) from 2005 to 2019. The users are accessing internet via different media, inclusive of fixed lines and wireless connectivity. In wireless connectivity by 2019, 86% of the world population is using mobile broadband services offered by different telecom operators in different regions. Around 44.7% of the world population lives in rural areas as projected in 2018. Telecom operators are now seeking to cover all urban and rural, segregated, and dense, plateaus and hills, small and big geographical areas for internet connectivity. The majority of challenges faced by operators for deployment of internet connectivity services are in rural areas. Internet users cited in rural areas experience poor coverage and bad quality of service (QoS) in wireless internet access. This thesis covers the rural area internet connectivity challenges, existing deployable solutions against the challenges, and provides example solutions to overcome these challenges, to provide wireless network coverage in rural areas of Finland. Many of the existing wireless communication services are directly deployable or adjustable to the remote or rural areas almost the same way as for the urban areas. The major challenge is the low annual revenue per unit and segregated population densities of rural areas, which increase the return of investment time of network service providers. There are other challenges like ease of assembly, technology, backhaul connectivity, and electricity discussed in the thesis. The possible wireless network solutions deployable for wide area network regions and local area network regions are presented in this thesis. Thesis presents all emerging wireless technologies like small cell base station, super tower, balloon Loon project, power line Airgig project, satellite Viasat service, fixed wireless internet, and signal booster. Two possible network solutions for wireless network coverage in rural areas of Finland are analysed in the thesis. Huawei’s RuralStar small cell base station is presented as the first network solution from the viewpoint of network service provider. Hajakaista network services to individual user are presented as the second network solution from the viewpoint of end user. An addition of outdoor router in Hajakaista network architecture is presented as an additional advantage of outdoor Wi-Fi service together with indoor Wi-Fi. The limitations of the network solutions and future work scope are discussed in the discussion part of the thesis.Langattomia tietoliikenneratkaisuja syrjäalueille. Tiivistelmä. Nykyisin internetyhteys nähdään perustarpeeksi koska se antaa pääsyn tietoon, mahdollistaa ammatilliset ja sosiaaliset yhteydet sekä toimii viihdeväylänä ja tärkeänä osana liiketoimintaa. Tämän vuoksi tarve internetyhteydelle on kasvanut maailmanlaajuisesti. Vuonna 2005 maailman ihmisistä 16 % oli yhteys internettiin ja 2019 48 %. Internetyhteys voidaan saada usealla eri tavalla kuten valokuidulla ja langatonta yhteyttä käyttäen. Vuonna 2019 maailman ihmisistä 86 % käytti langatonta tekniikkaa. Vuonna 2018 44,7 % ihmisistä asui maaseutualueilla. Teleoperaattorit yrittävät kattaa kaikki kaupunki- ja maaseutualueet; eristyneet, tasaiset, kukkulaiset, isot ja pienet maantieteelliset alueet. Suurimmat haasteet ovat maaseudulla, jossa ihmiset kokevat huonoa yhteyspeittoa ja yhteyden laatua. Tämä diplomityö tarkastelee, miten nykyisiä langattomia järjestelmiä voitaisiin käyttää maaseudulla toimivien yhteyksien luomiseksi. Työ esittää kaksi esimerkkiratkaisua Suomen olosuhteisiin. Monet nykyisin kaupungeissa käytettävät ratkaisut ovat suoraan tai lähes suoraan sovellettavissa maaseudulle. Päähaasteet ovat matala vuosittainen yksikkötuotto ja hajallaan olevat alueet, jotka syyt kasvattavat investoinnin kuoletusaikaa. Muita haasteita ovat asennus, teknologia, siirtoyhteydet (tukiasemasta verkkoon) ja sähkön saanti, joita tarkastellaan työssä. Mahdollisia langattomia ratkaisuja ovat laajan alueen ja paikalliset ratkaisut, kuten työssä tuodaan esille. Työ tarkastelee solukkoverkkoja, supertornia, palloprojekti Loonia, sähkölinjoihin pohjautuvaa Airgig-projektia, Viasat-satelliittiratkaisua, kiinteää solukkoyhteyttä ja signaalin passiivista vahvistamista. Työ esittää kaksi ratkaisumallia Suomen olosuhteisiin. Toinen perustuu Huawein RuralStar-kevyttukiasemaan, jolla voi jatkaa operaattorin verkkoa. Toinen ratkaisu on kuluttajalähtöinen ja se perustuu Hajakaista Oy:n ratkaisuun. Siinä lisätään Hajakaista Oy:n perusratkaisun eli talon sisäisen Wi-Fi-verkon rinnalle ulkoinen Wi-Fi-verkko. Ratkaisujen rajoitteita tarkastellaan työn keskusteluosuudessa

Patterns of Informality in the Ship Breaking Industry of Bangladesh

The relationship between economic growth and formalization of industrial sectors has not been unidimensional as several studies have brought different aspects of it from diverse contexts. This paper tries to evaluate the persistence of informality in the ship breaking industry of Bangladesh by setting it against the proclaimed formality of the sector. In addition, the paper also seeks to support the argument that informal patterns of employment can persist, if not grow, within a formal system. Both qualitative and quantitative data have been collected by questionnaire survey and key informant interviews. Analysis of the findings reveal a strong presence of informality within labor market dynamics of ship breaking industry in Bangladesh while several administrative aspects of the industry remain formalized. Study findings support the notion that growth as well as institutional development cannot necessarily transform informal conditions of labor market in developing country context

Surface Runoff Responses to Suburban Growth: An Integration of Remote Sensing, GIS, and Curve Number

Suburban growth and its impacts on surface runoff were investigated using the soil conservation service curve number (SCS-CN) model, compared with the integrated advanced remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS)-based integrated approach, over South Kingston, Rhode Island, USA. This study analyzed and employed the supervised classification method on four Landsat images from 1994, 2004, 2014, and 2020 to detect land-use pattern changes through remote sensing applications. Results showed that 68.6% urban land expansion was reported from 1994 to 2020 in this suburban area. After land-use change detection, a GIS-based SCS-CN model was developed to examine suburban growth and surface runoff estimation. The developed model demonstrated the spatial distribution of runoff for each of the studied years. The results showed an increasing spatial pattern of 2% to 10% of runoff from 1994 to 2020. The correlation between runoff co-efficient and rainfall indicated the significant impact of suburban growth in surface runoff over the last 36 years in South Kingstown, RI, USA, showing a slight change of forest (8.2% area of the total area) and agricultural land (4.8% area of the total area). Suburban growth began after 2000, and within 16 years this land-use change started to show its substantial impact on surface runoff. We concluded that the proposed integrated approach could classify land-use and land cover information to understand suburban growth and its potential impact on the area

Long - term fertilization effect of organic carbon and total nitrogen on floodplain soil

Soil organic matter is the most often reported indicator of soil quality and productivity and an evidence of previous soil management. Therefore, in 2017, a laboratory incubation study was carried out in the experimental filed of Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture (BINA), Mymensingh, Bangladesh under control condition at 25°C for 104 days to investigate the influence of long term manuring and fertilization on soil respiration by means of C mineralization. Soil samples were collected from floodplain soil with rice-rice cropping pattern at Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) experimental farm having eight treatments. Long term (33 years) application of fertilizers and manure resulted in significant differences in soil organic carbon, total N content, and soil pH KCl between the treatments. The soil organic carbon and total N content varied among the different treatments from14.9 g OC kg-1 to 17.0 g OC kg-1 and1.60 g N kg-1 (control) to 1.78 g N kg-1 (application of NPK). The soil pH varied among the different treatments from 5.65(application of NK) to 4.89 (application of N). This result indicates that more stable organic carbon was formed in NPK treated soil which is less prone to de-composition if present crop management has been changed

The Integration of Smart Meters into Electrical Grids: Bangladesh Chapter

The Smart Metering Technology paves way for increased utilization of green power through Renewable Energy Sources. With the introduction of Smart Metering Technology at Distribution level, the consumer shall have an incentive to switch on their appliances time specific, to have the benefit of choice of low cost power. This paper identifies specific issues that could be developed for Bangladesh’s deployment of Smart Metering Infrastructure, recommends appropriate goals, key strategies, and critical objectives in solving those shortcomings, and outlines a practical program, identifying key tasks and necessary expert capabilities, to accomplish that solution in a timely and affordable manner. Keywords: AMR, AMI, AMM, Power Line Carrier (PLC

Vetiver Grass as a Potential Resource for Rural Development in Bangladesh

Good quality lands are degraded by water and wind erosion, loss of organic matter, water-logging and salinity in Bangladesh which decreases crop yield and biodiversity. Lands are also contaminated with heavy metals due to growing industrialization. There are lots of expensive methods for controlling soil erosion, soil salinity, and land degradation, which can not be achievable in developing countries. The environment-friendly vetiver grass is available all over Bangladesh and it is economically feasible to control land degradation.  Vetiver grass can also be used for other purposes, as mentioned in this paper, and poor people can earn money utilizing vetiver grass.  But most of the people are unaware of the utility of this natural resource and therefore, motivation and training on the utilization of vetiver products are necessary

Effect of long term fertilization on soil respiration and enzyme activities in floodplain soil

In agricultural farming system organic manuring and inorganic fertilizer application are the most common agricultural practices. Different fertilizer application lead to differences in soil nutrients, pH, and microbial species, which in turn affect the transformation and decomposition of organic carbon by soil microorganisms. Therefore, a laboratory incubation study was carried out to investigate the influence of long term manuring and fertilization on soil respiration by means of C mineralization and enzyme activities. A parallel first- and zero-order kinetic model was used to describe observed C mineralization in soil. The annual carbon mineralization was found to be significantly influenced by different fertilizer. This result indicates that more stable organic matter was formed in NP treated soil which is less prone to decomposition if present crop management has been changed. Other ward, NP has the highest potentiality to soil for the purpose of carbon sequestration in floodplain soil compared to other fertilizer. Urease activities varied from 4.7µg NH4-N/g soil/2h in NK treatment to 25.7µg NH4-N/g soil/2h in N+FYM treatment. N treatment had a significantly higher urease activity compared to the respective controls. When P, K, S and PK applied separately with N then the treatments show low enzyme activity to control and other treatments (N, N+FYM and NPKSZn). There were no significant differences for Arylamidase activities among the treatments. The arylamidase activities decreased when S applied in combination with N. On the other hand arylamidase activity increased with the application of all other treatment