1st International Workshop on Networking Technologies (IWNT 2003)
Bangkok, Thailand
17 December 2003
Rural Access in Nepal
using Wireless IP
Technology
Binod Vaidya
Center for Information Technology,
Institute of Engineering,
Tribhuvan University,
Kathmandu, Nepal
Introduction
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Nepal is located on southern slopes of midHimalayas between China and India.
Ecologically, divided into
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Mountain,
Hill and
Terai (Plains),
Administratively divided into
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5 Development Regions,
14 Zones,
75 Districts and
3,914 Village Development Committees (VDC)
Introduction
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Population of Nepal - 23.5 million
About 84% still lives in rural areas.
Most rural people are dependent on subsistence
agriculture for livelihood.
Overall literacy rate in Nepal
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For male - 58%
For female - 22.8%.
APT Project
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Title: Applicability of Data Mining Tools for
forecasting prospects of e-technology integration at
Multipurpose Community Telecenter (MCT)
Objectives:
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To determine applicability of Data Mining Tools for
forecasting Telecom based e-services and technologies for
rural population.
To determine feasibility of integration of above findings to
the MCT.
To compare findings with MCT in other countries of AsiaPacific Region, especially in South-East Asia.
APT Project
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Implementing Organizations:
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Center for Information Technology, Institute of
Engineering, Tribhuvan University
Nepal Telecommunication Corporation
Society of Electronics and Communication Engineers
Nepal
Funding Agency: Asia-Pacific Telecommunity
(APT)
Project Duration: 6 month (upto 2nd week of
April)
Selection of Districts for
Survey
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Selection Criteria
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wider geographical diversity
at least one district from each zone
proportionate distribution in accordance with
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development regions,
ecological regions,
population distribution and
literacy level
easy access by road &/or by air
Selection of Districts for
Survey
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35 districts districts for survey.
4 VDCs per district,
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15 Households per VDC.
elected person of VDC office.
Operator of PCO (Public Call Office) if any.
Districts selected
Constraints for Rural
Access in Nepal
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Physical isolation and difficult topographical conditions
Underdeveloped physical infrastructure
Low-income levels/ poverty
Low population density
Low level of computer education
Little public awareness about internet and use of computer
Absence of local content / language barrier to transfer
information, with Nepali font not yet standardized
Inadequate human resource development
Lack of sufficient fund needed for huge investment in the
ICT sector
Access to
Telecommunications
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NTC is still predominant operator for providing basic
telephone and mobile services,
United Telecom Ltd. (UTL) and STL ended NTC’s basic
monopoly.
Low telephone penetration
Limited points of presence of ISPs
About 1761 VDCs (45% of total VDCs) have access to
telecommunication facilities.
In 2002, telephone penetration :
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1.61 main telephones lines per 100 inhabitants
0.09 cellular mobile subscribers per 1000 inhabitants.
In rural areas only 1.64 telephone line per 1000 inhabitants
Costly both backbone and last-mile connectivity
Access to Computer and
Internet facilities
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Low computer penetration - 0.35 PCs per 100
inhabitants in 2002.
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Internet services are only concentrated in major cities
of Nepal
In 2002,
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0.67 Internet hosts per 10,000 inhabitants
26.39 Internet users per 10,000 inhabitants.
Lack of appropriate bandwidth up to VDCs
38% of population living below income poverty line so
cannot afford high costs associated with ICT services
Access to Electricity
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Electricity supply reached to 40% of total population.
Lack of reliable public Electricity supply
In spite of its large hydropower potential, Nepal has
produced about 548 MW of hydropower to date,
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supplies about 1.3% of total energy consumption.
Although high potential in use of locally available
renewable energy resources - solar, wind and microhydro, they are not widely used in Nepal.
Choose of Appropriate
Wireless Technology
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Wired networks cannot be used in remote and rural
areas
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installation is too costly
maintaining reliability is not cost effective.
Need to adopt use of wireless technologies for
Internet access.
Using Wireless networks, remote areas of Nepal for:
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fast setup and implementation;
Last-mile communications;
movable installation; and
mobility.
Choose of Appropriate
Wireless Technology
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Selecting wireless technology for
settings requires thorough analysis of
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Geographical location
remoteness from switching exchange,
Application requirements for end users
services for end users
Anticipated traffic volume
Capital and operational costs.
rural
Choice of Wireless Connectivity
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Rural connectivity has several requirements
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low-cost,
low-power,
robustness,
scalability and
ease of use.
Some technology used for rural connectivity in Nepal are
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Radio Link - Microwave
Wireless Local Loop (WLL),
Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT)
Wireless LAN/WAN
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IEEE 802.11 standard - most promising
wireless technology.
Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) based on IEEE
802.11b standard
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widely used for indoor and outdoor environment.
operates at 2.4GHz ISM band.
Maximum speed of 11Mbps,
Wireless LAN/WAN
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IEEE 802.11a standard
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uses OFDM in 5GHz bands
can provide data rates up to 54Mbps
IEEE 802.11g standard
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operates at 2.4GHz
supports up to 22Mbps using OFDM.
Wireless LAN/WAN
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Advantage of Wi-Fi network include:
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its ease of set-up, use, and maintenance;
its relatively high bandwidth;
its relatively low cost for both users and
providers.
Future Wireless access
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IEEE 802.16a standard –
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suitable for non-line-of-sight (NLOS) access.
Operates in licensed and unlicensed frequencies
between 2GHz and 11GHz
using OFDM
cover up to 30 miles of range
With shared data rates up to 75 Mbps.
IEEE 802.16a could be wireless backhaul
technology to connect 802.11 WLANs.
Considerations for
Deploying Wi-Fi Technology
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Range and coverage
 Coverage area for typical Wi-Fi systems - ~ 10 km.
 With appropriate antennas and amplifiers, can achieve
point-to-point connectivity at max. distance of 20 km.
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Security
 vulnerable to Intruders:
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Confidential information can be easily sniffed.
Loss of data reliability and integrity may occur.
Difficult to detect intrusion.
IEEE 802.11 provides security via two methods:
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authentication (Open System or Shared Key)
Encryption (WEP)
Considerations for
Deploying Wi-Fi Technology
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Interference and Coexistence
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RF interference still harassing WLAN deployments.
RF sources such as codeless phones, microwave
systems are culprit for Wi-Fi network
Network Performance
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Factors that affect throughput include
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number of users,
propagation factors such as range and multipath,
type of WLAN system used,
latency.
Rural Digital Library
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Proposed Rural Digital Library (RDL) is Multi-purpose
community telecenter (MCT)
Partnerships will be Local Government authorities,
NGOs, schools, and private organizations.
Goal is to develop knowledge-based resource network
with Internet access for isolated rural communities.
RDL shall provide variety of services to different user
groups in rural communities relating to:
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Formal and non-formal education;
agriculture
health;
E-governance etc.
Structure
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RDL network design will consist of
 Main Library Server Center (MLSC):
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Local Server Center (LSC):
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shall be located at public premise in DDC,
will provide Internet access to all Local Server Centers
through National backbone network.
Will have main server
shall be located at public premises in different neighboring
VDCs.
User Group (UG):
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may be located at public access facilities such as
telecenters, schools, health centers, agricultural centers
and government offices.
Structure
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MLSC shall support 4 to 6 LSCs in concentrated clusters
of communities located in the neighboring VDCs,
Each LSC shall serve a number of (e.g. 3 to 10) User
groups.
Wireless Backhaul Link
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MLSC shall have point-to-point connectivity or point-tomultipoint connectivity via dedicated wireless IP links to
LSCs that serve as wireless backhaul connection.
On wireless backhaul link, access points to line can be
used as hot spots
Distribution node could be established to provide access
to local community.
With backbone nodes, distribution nodes are connected
All wireless ISPs can be connected to MLSC to handle
traffic from wireless ISP in LSCs and directing global
traffic.
Conclusion
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Due to sparsely distributed population in rural areas,
it is economically viable to use wireless IP network
Depending on appropriate low-cost antennae,
wireless bridges, access points, Wi-Fi networks can
be one of cost-effective options
Rural Digital Library aims to respond to demand for
ICT services to rural communities.
Grid of Wi-Fi links between rural areas eventually
connecting to the national infrastructure.
Q&A
Thank you
bvaiya@ioe.edu.np