Sharing low-cost wireless infrastructures with telecommunications operators to bring 3G services to rural communities

The TUCAN3G project: wireless technologies for isolated rural communities in developing countries based on 3G small cell deployments

“…WiMAX allows capacities of approximately 60% of those obtained for WiLD with 10 MHz channels, for the same delay and packet-loss figures [14]. Higher capacities may be achieved under saturation conditions, but at the cost of QoS degradation.…”

“…Additionally, the use of low-cost technology operating in unlicensed bands can be adopted here for carrier-class deployments due to the low or inexistent interference. In this context, a combination of WiLD [14] and/or WiMAX systems operating in non-licensed bands is a viable solution for a multi-hop heterogeneous backhaul provided that the capacity is sufficiently high and the per-hop delay and packet loss are controlled. The performance of point-to-point links has been theoretically analyzed and experimentally tested, proving that WiLD operating in 20 MHz channels allows capacities over 45…”

“…Once the network elucidates how much traffic should be accepted to/from each AP, different strategies could be used to ensure endto-end QoS over the shared infrastructure: distributed QoS architectures based on DiffServ at the IP layer, or MPLS at a lower layer. In [14] the backhaul architecture satisfying all these requirements is detailed, justifying the need of a traffic control system in every node, a function that can be efficiently performed by a low-cost embedded router. Results [14] demonstrate that the proposed backhaul architecture achieves carrier-class QoS for voice and signaling traffic, while assuring the best possible quality for data traffic.…”

Interdisciplinary Alliances to Deploy Telemedicine Services in Isolated Communities: The Napo Project Case

“…The TUCAN3G project, funded by the European Commission, tried to fill this gap in the quest for solutions to connect the unconnected, and successfully deployed pilots of 3G cellular networks in remote areas involving an MNO [12,13]. TUCAN3G marked the guidelines for making alliances with different stakeholders that seek more sustainable and scalable rural telecommunications networks with the participation of an MNO, an experience that should be seen as complementary to the also successful experiences of bottom-up initiatives with a strong emphasis on the role of communities.…”

“…EHAS and FITEL conducted a cost analysis of the TUCAN3G solution and proposed new business models based on the sharing of resources among different actors in the rural environments [12]. The results obtained from the pilot showed that the solution proposed by TUCAN3G was technically and economically viable in the medium term, since the reduction of costs achieved allowed for the maintenance of the network with the income of small communities [13].…”