A Framework for Wireless Broadband Network for Connecting the Unconnected

TL;DR

This paper proposes using LTE-A in TV UHF bands with multi-hop topology to provide affordable rural broadband, demonstrating that optimized multi-hop networks outperform traditional PMP setups.

Contribution

It introduces a novel LTE-A based multi-hop network framework in TV UHF bands for rural broadband connectivity, including an LP-based optimal topology design.

Findings

Multi-hop LTE-A networks outperform PMP topology in rural settings.

Optimally planned LTE-A networks in TV UHF bands are effective for affordable rural broadband.

Linear Programming can optimize network topology for better performance.

Abstract

A significant barrier in providing affordable rural broadband is to connect the rural and remote places to the optical Point of Presence (PoP) over distances of few kilometers. A lot of work has been done in the area of long distance Wi-Fi networks. However, these networks require tall towers and high gain (directional) antennas. Also, they work in the unlicensed band which has Effective Isotropically Radiated Power (EIRP) limit (e.g. 1 W in India) which restricts the network design. In this work, we propose a Long Term Evolution-Advanced (LTE-A) network operating in TV UHF to connect the remote areas to the optical PoP. In India, around 100 MHz of TV UHF band IV (470-585 MHz) is unused at any location and can be put to an effective use in these areas. We explore the idea of multi-hop topology for the proposed network. We also compare the performance of the multi-hop network with the Point to Multipoint (PMP) topology. The results show that multi-hop network performs much better than the PMP network. We then formulate a Linear Programming (LP) problem of generating optimal topology and compare its performance with the multi-hop network. Overall, the analysis implies that an optimally planned LTE-A network in TV UHF band can be a potential solution for affordable rural broadband.