Thailand Rural Wireless Broadband Access Initiative
by Kanchana Wanichkorn, Ph.D.
National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (NECTEC)Thailand
presented at - APT Regional Forum for ICT Experts in South East Asia:
-Meeting the Challenges on Digital Gaps Approaching e Government Jakarta, Indonesia
- 45 2004February
2Copyright 2004 by RWBA Initiative-NECTEC
Background and Motivation
In an “information society”, access to telecom and in formation services become a crucial driver for econo
mic and social development. Connectivity leads to productivity.
The digital gaps between urban and rural communiti es in Thailand.
More than 17,000 villages (out of 70,000) do not have acces s to basic telephony service.
- Thousands of schools, libraries, hospitals, health care units, l ocal community centers, and small businesses in rural Thail and do not have access to Internet service.
3Copyright 2004 by RWBA Initiative-NECTEC
The lack of telecom infrastructure in rural areas is mainly due to high costs of building out “last mile”
networks to the communities. sparseness of the population, difficult terrain to install co
pper pairs, not enough revenues to justify costs. The growth of the Internet and rapid deployment o
f broadband services in urban cities make rural are as more vulnerable to not receiving access to adva
nced telecom and information services. Thus, threaten to broaden the digital gaps between the in
-formation “haves” and “have nots”.
4Copyright 2004 by RWBA Initiative-NECTEC
The Promise of Wireless Networks
First generation fixed wireless access or wireless local loop (WLL) has been used worldwide to provide basic telephony service in rural areas.
Wireless competitive advantages over wireline: quick installation small initial investment gradual growth and expansion according to local
demand insensitivity to exact location of the subscriber.
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New generation of broadband fixed wireless access technologies (such as WiFi and WiMax) are capable of delivering not just good-quality of digital voice but broadband Internet access service as well.
Promoted by the industry as a new solution to bridge the “digital divide” in the broadband era...
Yet, the industry as a whole has not been successful on a large scale to implement broadband wireless access in rural areas.
Why?
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Challenges in Deploying Broadband Wireless Access in Rural Areas
Off-the-shelf equipment is typically not optimally designed for a large rural area deployment.
Required proper planning and refinements Lack of spectrum
In many countries (including Thailand), ITU-recommended unlicensed bands of spectrum for broadband wireless access deployment in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz ranges have already been licensed out for other applications. Thus, need other bands for broadband wireless deployment.
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Interconnection to the telephone network (PSTN) and Internet backbone can be a major expense.
In rural/remote areas, reliable power supply may not be available.
Providing voice over IP service is prohibited or may required proper licenses from the government in many countries.
8Copyright 2004 by RWBA Initiative-NECTEC
The Rural Wireless Broadband Access (RWBA) Initiative
Initiated by a group of NECTEC researchers and engineers
Dr. Thaweesak Koanantakool, Director of NECTEC Mr. Pramote Srisuksant Mr. Sutat Patomnupong Dr. Chadamas Thuvasethakul Dr. Kasititorn Pooparadai Dr. Kanchana Wanichkorn
To be officially launched in April 2004 Goal:
Develop a model for rural wireless broadband access com munity networks
Provide information resources and guidelines on rural de ployment of broadband wireless access networks
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Action Plan
Phase I: Develop a broadband wireless access solu tion capable of providing digital voice and broadba
nd Internet access services in a large rural area
Phase II: Launch a pilot program for the provision o f broadband wireless voice and Internet access ser
vices in target rural communities to identify key su ccess factors for sustainable services
Phase I : Development of RWBA Equipment Prototypes
Develop equipment prototypes capable of providing digital voice and broadband
Internet access services in a large rural area.
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RWBA System Architecture
Internet
Leased Line
PSTN
Router
VoIPGate Way
Point-to-Point Transmission System
Point-to-Multipoint Distribution System
BS
FT
Base Station
FT
Fixed Terminal
IP Phone
IP Network
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RWBA Design Criteria
The system must be digital in structure - capable of providing voice and high speed Internet acces
s services (at least 2 Mbps aggregated speed in each direction)
based on a basic TCP/IP protocol - - able to support multi layered formats with built in VPN using no more than 15 MHz of spectrum bandwidth adjustable to operate in multiple frequency bands optimally designed to cover a large rural area
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Factors Affecting System’s Capacity and Coverage
Designing a wireless system typically involves tradeoffs between system’s capacity and coverage.
A good compromise among these factors is one key to a successful implementation of a broadband wireless network.
CoverageRange
Terrain and Propagation
Characteristics
Min Received Signal Level
Target C/I
ModulationScheme
Sectorization and
Cellularization
AvailableSpectrum
Radio Equipment and Antenna
Characteristics
SystemCapacity
CoverageRange
CoverageRange
Terrain and Propagation
Characteristics
Terrain and Propagation
Characteristics
Min Received Signal Level
Min Received Signal Level
Target C/I
Target C/I
ModulationScheme
ModulationScheme
Sectorization and
Cellularization
Sectorization and
Cellularization
AvailableSpectrumAvailableSpectrum
Radio Equipment and Antenna
Characteristics
Radio Equipment and Antenna
Characteristics
SystemCapacitySystemCapacity
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Available Spectrum for Broadb and Wireless Deployment
45 MHz
Name Type Frequency Bandwidth
Wireless Commnunications Service (WCS) Licensed 450-470 MHz 746-764 MHz
776-794 MHz 2305-2320 MHz
3.65-3.7 GHz 4.94-4.99 GHz
20 MHz 18 MHz 18 MHz 15 MHz 50 MHz 50 MHz
Advanced Mobile&Fixed Communications Services (AMFCS or 3G)
Licensed 1710-1755 MHz 1755-1810 MHz 2110-2150 MHz 2160-2165 MHz
55 MHz 40 MHz 5 MHz
Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Service (MMDS)/Instructional TV Fixed Service (ITFS)
Licensed 2156-2160 MHz 2500-2690 MHz
4 MHz 190 MHz
Unlicensed Spectrum 2400 MHz Unlicensed 2400-2483.5 MHz 83.5 MHz
Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII)
Unlicensed 5.15-5.25 GHz 5.25-5.35 GHz
5.725-5.825 GHz
100 MHz 100 MHz 100 MHz
Multichannel Video Distribution& Data Service (MVDDS)
Licensed 12.2-12.7 GHz 500 MHz
Digital Electronic Message Service (DEMS)
Licensed 24.25-24.45 GHz 25.05-25.25 GHz
200 MHz 200 MHz
Local Multipoint Distribution Service (LMDS)
Licensed 27.5-28.35 GHz 29.1-29.25 GHz 31.0-31.3 GHz
850 MHz 150 MHz 300 MHz
39 GHz Wireless Services Licensed 38.6-40 GHz 1400 MHz
Developing Milimeter Wave Systems Unlicensed 57-64 GHz 7000 MHz
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Comparison of Spectrum Characteristics
•Radio technology is inexpensive, capable of delivering products for consumer market.•Long propagation distances (up to 50 km).•Low weather dependence but subject to multipath interference•Spectrum is scarce, difficult to obtain wide-band license.
•Radio technology is expensive, existing solutions are applicable mostly to business sector.•Short propagation distances (3-5 km) and require line-of-sight.•High weather dependence.•Spectrum is available, it is possible to get up to 1GHz.
Low Microwave Frequencies(<10GHz)High Microwave Frequencies(>10GHz)
better for rural deployment
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RWBA Equipment Prototypes at 2.4 GHz Unlicensed Frequency Band
Base StationFixed Terminal
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Field Trial of the 2.4 GHz Equipment Prototypes
NECTEC
A field trial has been set up at NECTEC in Science Park, Patumthani to test the performance of equipment prototypes.
Base station equipment is located on top of NECTEC Head Office Building.
Multiple point-to-multipoint fixed terminal units are installed within 5 Km radius.
A single point-to-point fixed terminal unit is installed 20 Km away from NECTEC.
Phase II: RWBA Pilot Program
Launch a pilot program for the provisio n of broadband wireless voice and Inter
net access services in target rural com munities to identify key success factors
for sustainable services.
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Site Selection
Analysis of population distribution in rural villages to help select pilot sites. (2-3 sites that captures different characteristics of rural villages will be selected.)
The number of population
2800.0
2600.0
2400.0
2200.0
2000.0
1800.0
1600.0
1400.0
1200.0
1000.0
800.0
600.0
The number of population per village
Fre
qune
cy
30000
20000
10000
0
Std. Dev = 311.76
Mean = 841.4
N = 66791.00
Area Size (square kilometers)
33.031.0
29.027.0
25.023.0
21.019.0
17.015.0
13.011.0
9.07.0
5.03.0
1.0
Area Size per village
Fre
quen
cy
12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
Std. Dev = 4.87
Mean = 7.7
N = 66791.00
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Cost Estimation A cost model will be developed to estimate the
costs of implementing RWBA systems.
Sample Cost Results for Base Station Equipment ($y)
Installation28%
Indoor Wireless
Modem and MTA Unit
17%
Battery Backup
6%
Outdoor Transceiver and Antenna
Unit40%Sample Cost Results for
Customer Premises Equipment ($x)
Towers and Lights11%
Installation9%
RF Backup System
8%
Antennae and Trans.
Lines8%
Others4%
Network Electronics
Backup System
5%
Routers5%
NMS2%
Backup Power
1%
WMTS36%
Transmitters and
Receivers11%
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Field Trial Activities
In partnership with local communities and other interested parties, RWBA equipment prototypes will be setup in target rural communities for a period of one year.
Engineering measurements will be collected to monitor the performance of the RWBA system.
Surveys will be conducted to gather feedback from the communities on the need for and interest in broadband connectivity.
Analyses will be done to identify key success factors for sustainable services.
Other Sample Activities to Bridge the Digital Gaps in Thailand
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Sample Projects
Wireless Local Loop for Rural Telephone SchoolNet Thailand The Community Telecenter Development of Fundamental Software Packages
for Thailand using Open Source Economy-Class PC Project Automatic Web Translation Services Mobile IT Training Distance Learning via Satellite Please consult the documentation entitled “IT for
Poverty Reduction: Sample cases from Thailand” for more detail.
