Thesis (M.Sc.Eng.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2007.WiFi can be used to provide cost-effective last-mile IP connectivity to rural users. In initial rollout,
hotspots or hotzones can be positioned at community centres such as schools, clinics,
hospitals or call-centres. The research will investigate maximizing coverage using physical and
higher layer techniques. The study will consider a typical South African rural region, with
telecommunications services traffic estimates. The study will compare several IEEE 802.11
deployment options based on the requirements of the South African case in order to recommend
options that improve performance
