Massive RF Simulation Applied to School Connectivity in Malawi

TL;DR

This paper presents an automated RF simulation framework for large-scale school connectivity planning in Malawi, utilizing terrain models to efficiently design point-to-point wireless links for nationwide Internet access.

Contribution

The paper introduces a novel automated framework that accelerates RF propagation modeling for extensive deployments using digital elevation maps.

Findings

Framework successfully applied to Malawi school connectivity project

Significant reduction in simulation time for large networks

Improved accuracy in RF link planning using terrain data

Abstract

Providing Internet connectivity to schools has been identified as paramount for development, for instance in the Giga project, cosponsored by ITU and UNICEF, with the goal of connecting every school to the Internet by 2030. For a country wide deployment, it is imperative to perform a thorough planning of the whole installation, using radio frequency (RF) propagation models. While statistical models based on empirical RF propagation data gathered in different scenarios can be employed, for point to point links at microwave frequencies the existence of a clear line of sight (LOS) is normally a prerequisite. The Irregular terrain model which makes use of digital elevation maps (DEM) has proved quite effective for simulating point to point links, but its application to a great number of links becomes time consuming, so we have developed an automated framework to perform this task. As a case study we have applied this framework in the planning of a project mired at providing connectivity to primary and secondary schools all over the country of Malawi.