Thailand Rural Wireless Broadband Access Initiative

1. 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 4-5 February 2004

2. Background and Motivation • In an “information society”, access to telecom and information services become a crucial driver for economic and social development. • Connectivity leads to productivity. • The digital gaps between urban and rural communities in Thailand. • More than 17,000 villages (out of 70,000) do not have access to basic telephony service. • Thousands of schools, libraries, hospitals, health-care units, local community centers, and small businesses in rural Thailand do not have access to Internet service.

3. 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 copper pairs, not enough revenues to justify costs. • The growth of the Internet and rapid deployment of broadband services in urban cities make rural areas more vulnerable to not receiving access to advanced telecom and information services. • Thus, threaten to broaden the digital gaps between the information “haves” and “have-nots”.

4. 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.

5. 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?

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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 community networks • Provide information resources and guidelines on rural deployment of broadband wireless access networks

9. Action Plan • Phase I: Develop a broadband wireless access solution capable of providing digital voice and broadband Internet access services in a large rural area • Phase II: Launch a pilot program for the provision of broadband wireless voice and Internet access services in target rural communities to identify key success factors for sustainable services

10. 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.

11. RWBA System Architecture Internet Leased Line PSTN FT Router BS Base Station VoIP Gate Way Fixed Terminal FT IP Phone Point-to-Point Transmission System Point-to-Multipoint Distribution System IP Network

12. RWBA Design Criteria • The system must be • digital in structure • capable of providing voice and high-speed Internet access 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

13. 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.

14. Available Spectrum for Broadband Wireless Deployment Name Bandwidth Type Frequency Wireless Commnunications Service (WCS) Licensed 450-470 MHz 20 MHz 746-764 MHz 18 MHz 18 MHz 776-794 MHz 2305-2320 MHz 15 MHz 3.65-3.7 GHz 50 MHz 4.94-4.99 GHz 50 MHz Advanced Mobile&Fixed Communications Licensed 1710-1755 MHz Services (AMFCS or 3G) 1755-1810 MHz 55 MHz 2110-2150 MHz 40 MHz 2160-2165 MHz 5 MHz Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Service Licensed 2156-2160 MHz 4 MHz (MMDS)/Instructional TV Fixed Service 2500-2690 MHz 190 MHz (ITFS) Unlicensed Spectrum 2400 MHz Unlicensed 2400-2483.5 MHz 83.5 MHz Unlicensed National Information Unlicensed 5.15-5.25 GHz 100 MHz Infrastructure (U-NII) 5.25-5.35 GHz 100 MHz 5.725-5.825 GHz 100 MHz Multichannel Video Distribution& Data Licensed 12.2-12.7 GHz 500 MHz Service (MVDDS) Digital Electronic Message Service Licensed 24.25-24.45 GHz 200 MHz (DEMS) 25.05-25.25 GHz 200 MHz Local Multipoint Distribution Service Licensed 27.5-28.35 GHz 850 MHz (LMDS) 29.1-29.25 GHz 150 MHz 31.0-31.3 GHz 300 MHz 39 GHz Wireless Services Licensed 38.6-40 GHz 1400 MHz Developing Milimeter Wave Systems Unlicensed 57-64 GHz 7000 MHz 45 MHz

15. Comparison of Spectrum Characteristics Low Microwave Frequencies(<10GHz) High Microwave Frequencies(>10GHz) • 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. better for rural deployment

16. RWBA Equipment Prototypes at 2.4 GHz Unlicensed Frequency Band Fixed Terminal Base Station

17. Field Trial of the 2.4 GHz Equipment Prototypes • 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. NECTEC

18. Phase II: RWBA Pilot Program Launch a pilot program for the provision of broadband wireless voice and Internet access services in target rural communities to identify key success factors for sustainable services.

19. Site Selection Area Size per village 12000 The number of population per village 30000 10000 8000 20000 Frequency 6000 Frequnecy 4000 10000 2000 Std. Dev = 4.87 Mean = 7.7 Std. Dev = 311.76 N = 66791.00 Mean = 841.4 0 N = 66791.00 0 1.0 3.0 5.0 7.0 9.0 11.0 13.0 15.0 17.0 19.0 21.0 23.0 25.0 27.0 29.0 31.0 33.0 600.0 1000.0 1400.0 1800.0 2200.0 2600.0 800.0 1200.0 1600.0 2000.0 2400.0 2800.0 Area Size (square kilometers) The number of population • 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.)

20. Cost Estimation Backup Battery NMS Indoor Power Backup Others Network 2% Wireless 1% 6% Routers 4% Electronics Modem and 5% Backup MTA Unit System 17% 5% WMTS 36% Antennae and Trans. Lines 8% RF Backup System 8% Installation Outdoor 28% Transceiver Installation and Antenna 9% Transmitters Unit Towers and and 40% Lights Receivers 11% 11% • A cost model will be developed to estimate the costs of implementing RWBA systems. Sample Cost Results for Customer Premises Equipment ($x) Sample Cost Results for Base Station Equipment ($y)

21. 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.

22. Other Sample Activities to Bridge the Digital Gaps in Thailand

23. 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.

24. Thank you very much for your attentions. Kanchana Wanichkorn (kanchana@nectec.or.th)