A testbed for WiLDNet and white space
Wallace Kenyon, Alan Rolf Mickelson, Alexander Anderson · 2016
Access to internet connection is nowhere near as widespread as access to the cell phone network. A primary reason is cost, or perhaps more correctly stated, return on investment. Cost effectiveness of equipment is a key requirement although one that needs to be matched with a plan for a revenue stream. The IEEE Smart Village program for several years has been partnering with local entrepreneurs to provide equipment to produce renewable electrical power in remote rural areas. A requirement of the local partner is a viable plan for economic sustainability. If the target community can support a local micro-grid, it would stand to reason that the same community could support some communication infrastructure. Remote rural communities that lack electricity and communication generally also have compelling educational needs, for example, textbooks. An inexpensive means of distributing learning materials is the internet. The work to be discussed here is that of the first stages of an extension of the IEEE Smart Village program to the simultaneous provision of power and communication. We are presently investigating the notion that installing intranet infrastructure at the same time as a micro-grid is cost effective. The candidate technologies for intranet are Wi-Fi Long Distance (WiLD) and Television White Space (TVWS). The technologies are described, compared and contrasted. A testbed that is presently being constructed at the University of Colorado at Boulder to compare these two communication technologies will be described and test results presented. Some discussion will be give to trials that will take place in coming months, for example, an installation in Papua New Guinea.