Self-sustainable energy efficient long range WiFi network for rural communities

Author

Ab-Hamid, Khairuddin ; Tan, Chong Eng ; Lau, Sei Ping

Author_Institution

Fac. of Comput. Sci. & Inf. Technol., Univ. Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), Kota Samarahan, Malaysia

fYear

2011

fDate

5-9 Dec. 2011

Firstpage

1050

Lastpage

1055

Abstract

WiFi is a cost effective technology of choice for network extension in the rural areas. The telecentre network can reach further to the nearby villages within 10km radius by the use of long range WiFi relay points. The challenges encountered will be the self-sustainability of the network. It should be highly energy efficient and to be powered by the very limited energy sources available in the rural environment. In this case, a modular solar based power supply system has been investigated and enhanced to achieve longer operating hours for equipment installed in the middle of the tropical rainforest and on top of a mountain. The overall design of the self-sustainable long range WiFi network model and the end-user wireless terminal shall also meet the conditions of the rural as well as the living pattern of the local people. The proposed network model has been successfully deployed in a remote village in Borneo, named Bario, connecting six nearby villages to the telecentre for Internet access.

Keywords

Internet; computer centres; telecommunication terminals; wireless LAN; Bario; Borneo; Internet access; cost effective technology; end-user wireless terminal; energy source; long range WiFi relay points; modular solar based power supply system; network extension; network self-sustainability; remote village; rural area; rural communities; rural environment; self-sustainable energy efficient long range WiFi network; telecentre network; Batteries; Communities; Generators; IEEE 802.11 Standards; Power supplies; Relays; Wireless communication; Long range WiFi; energy efficient solar power supply; rural connectivity; self-sustainable network;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

GLOBECOM Workshops (GC Wkshps), 2011 IEEE

Conference_Location

Houston, TX

Print_ISBN

978-1-4673-0039-1

Electronic_ISBN

978-1-4673-0038-4

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/GLOCOMW.2011.6162337

Filename

6162337