TV White Space and LTE Network Optimization towards Energy Efficiency in Suburban and Rural Scenarios

TL;DR

This paper compares TV White Space and LTE networks in suburban and rural areas, demonstrating that TVWS offers significantly higher energy efficiency, which is crucial for sustainable wireless communication expansion.

Contribution

It provides a comparative analysis of TVWS and LTE in real-world suburban and rural scenarios, highlighting the superior energy efficiency of TVWS technologies.

Findings

TVWS networks are 9-12 times more energy efficient than LTE.

TVWS provides comparable coverage and capacity in rural and suburban areas.

The study uses real-world case studies from Belgium and Cuba.

Abstract

The radio spectrum is a limited resource. Demand for wireless communication services is increasing exponentially, stressing the availability of radio spectrum to accommodate new services. TV White Space (TVWS) technologies allow a dynamic usage of the spectrum. These technologies provide wireless connectivity, in the channels of the Very High Frequency (VHF) and Ultra High Frequency (UHF) television broadcasting bands. In this paper, we investigate and compare the coverage range, network capacity, and network energy efficiency for TVWS technologies and LTE. We consider Ghent, Belgium and Boyeros, Havana, Cuba to evaluate a realistic outdoor suburban and rural area, respectively. The comparison shows that TVWS networks have an energy efficiency 9-12 times higher than LTE networks.