MIDLANDS STATE UNIVERSITY

Faculty of Science and Technology

Department of Applied Physics & Telecommunications

HTEL 438: DISSERTATION PROJECT PROPOSAL

NAME: Shariwa Madhumbu

REG NO. R144452V

TOPIC:

QUANTITATIVE EVALUATION OF IMMINENT UHF TV WHITE SPACES IN

ZIMBABWE, TO PROVIDE FOR RURAL BROADBAND SERVICES.

Date Approved: _____________________

Supervisor: _________________________

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1.1 Introduction

Amid the rising demand for bandwidth, researchers around the world have measured and
studied the occupancy of spectrum in different countries. These measurements suggest that
except for the spectrum assigned to services like cellular technologies, and the industrial,
scientific bands, most of the allocated spectrum is heavily underutilized. Among all the
unutilized portions of the frequency spectrum, white spaces in the Ultra High Frequency
(UHF) Television (TV) bands have been of particular interest owing to the superior
propagation characteristics as compared to the higher frequency bands.

The current global move to switch from analogue to digital TV has opened up an opportunity
for the reallocation of the spectrum. In one way, spectrum bands once used for analogue TV
broadcasting will be completely cleared, leaving a space for deploying new licensed wireless
services. Digital television technology is known to geographically interleave spectrum bands
to avoid interference between neighbouring stations, leaving a space for deploying new
unlicensed wireless services.

Zimbabwe is no stranger to the current digital migration trend. The complete transition from
analogue to the digital TV was planned in Zimbabwe for 2015. However several delays have
dogged the project which has in turn slowed down progress. Ideally, after the intended
analogue switch-off, the spectrum 790MHz to 862MHz (TV channel), the so-called digital
dividend, will be entirely cleared from broadcast. Within the remaining spectrum (470MHz to
790MHz) not all channels are occupied at each location, due to coverage limits in network
planning. These locally unused channels are called TV white space (TVWS).

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1.2 Problem Statement

In Zimbabwe, two out of three people in the do not have access to internet [9]. More than half
the population in the country lives in rural areas with hardly any access to broadband. It is
expensive to lay fibre optic cable in rural and remote areas with low population density.
Hence, except for direct coverage by satellite where cost-effective and low latency solutions
are still developing, wireless is the only practical solution. The country’s traditional wireless
carriers have focused on urban areas with high population density. Since Zimbabwe is a third
world developing country, traditional technologies have been unable to provide large area
wireless coverage under non-line-of-sight (NLoS) conditions present in rural area to build
successful and viable business models. This has resulted in a digital divide [10].

The country’s decision to implement Analog to digital TV transition has provided an

opportunity to bridge this digital divide. This is because one traditional analog TV channel
typically allows up to 5 standard definition digital television (DTV) signals to be transmitted.
Excess spectrum is often called the “digital dividend” and it can be used to provide
broadband access as long as no interference is caused to primary users of the bands.

In addition, TV Channels in VHF/UHF bands have highly favourable propagation

characteristics for long-distance reach. TV Band White Spaces can provide more than ten
times the reach of the wireless access solutions in other bands that are above 1 GHz.

Wireless communication networks are the most feasible and economically viable broadband
solution for rural areas characterized with low teledensity and lack of fixed-line
telecommunications infrastructure. However, wireless networks rely on the availability and
affordability of radio frequency (RF) spectrum, which is a scarce natural resource. While few
studies claim shortage of usable RF spectrum [1], many studies [2], [3] assert that the
utilization of the licensed frequency bands varies from 10% to 85% depending on the
geographical location and time of the day. There is a growing recognition that dynamic
spectrum sharing, especially on TV white spaces (TVWS), has a potential to increase the
availability and ubiquity of broadband access thereby addressing the digital divide in the
country.

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1.3 Literature Review

Network projects such as Macha Works (LinkNet) in Zambia and BB4All and Zenzeleni
Networks in South Africa have adapted WiFi to provide access to rural areas in a
collaborative approach [4]. The engineering in these networks involves high gain antennas
and adding mesh capability to radios. Their key method of deployment involves the
community in all activities [5] engaging with the community and stakeholders in all aspects,
from planning to implementation and execution [6] [7]. These projects show that broadband
can be delivered in the periphery, often involving a community-owned networking approach.

With little prospect of Fibre to the Home to become viable beyond the metropolitan centres
and the continued limited availability of WiMax hardware, the costs of digging in cables, or
the provision of ASDL is too high to be feasible in the rural areas. Therefore, wireless
technology continues to carry the promises of internet connectivity in the countryside.

1.4 Aims & Objectives

The empirical quantification of the available TV white space in Zimbabwe is presented. The
quantification utilizes existing methods in the literature, namely pollution and protection
viewpoints [5], and the technical specifications of the Federal Communications Commission
[8].

Motivated by underutilization of UHF TV band spectrum, the study is aimed at attaining the
following objectives.

 To use mechanisms to evaluate, assess and quantify the amount of available TV

White Space in certain locations in rural Zimbabwe
 To establish methods for the existing DTT signals to coexist in the UHF band with the
TVWS services.
 To conjure up possible gaps that can be filled up with this imminently available
spectrum. In this case, Rural Broadband connectivity.
 To test and establish the various pros and cons of using the TV white spaces in the
UHF band so as to recommend to current mobile infrastructure owners to implement
them.
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1.5 Methodology

The study has two parts which will adhere to the following methodologies. Firstly, the
quantification of TV white space in Zimbabwe will be addressed. A computational model will
be developed that calculates the protection region and separation distance for each of the
towers to be covered in the study, and also the pollution region around the tower where a
secondary device should not operate.

Currently, there are no TV white space regulations in Zimbabwe since the country is
currently migrating to Digital Terrestrial TV. The regulations from FCC (United States) are
borrowed for the estimation of TV white space. The parameters used by the developed
computational tool include the following for all the TV transmitters:

1) position of the tower (latitude and longitude),

2) transmission power of the TV transmitter,

3) frequency of operation,

4) height of the antenna,

5) and, terrain information of area surrounding the tower.

The above parameters of all the TV towers operating in the UHF band have been obtained
from the national broadcaster, ZBC TV and regulatory organization, BAZ.

Using this TV transmitter information and the propagation model, we quantify the available
TV white space in the UHF TV band by two methods. The first method utilizes the protection
and pollution viewpoints while the second one utilizes technical specification made by the
FCC.

Since the secondary goal of the study involves suggestion of the setup of new TVWS
network links, it is critical to understand the deployment scenarios of TVWS based
communication systems is the rural or remote areas. These areas can benefit to a great extent
by the deployment of TVWS because of the sheer nature of the TV band waves having
propagation characteristics to reach tens of kilometres. These systems could be fast in
deployment with minimal number of repeaters. The study will focus on two main types of

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deployment options. One depicts the master-slave kind of communication between the
devices, mainly a point to multipoint type of deployment scenario. The slave device may then
emulate Wi-Fi or any other communication technology compatible with the User Equipment.
The other scenario depicts the TV band being used to provide middle mile connectivity to the
Base stations and repeaters to reach the far flung rural areas which are then served by Wi-Fi
in the last mile.

Fig 1: Current setup of existing TVWS networks in developed countries

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 Fig 2: The Master-Slave network architecture for the proposed TVWS network

1.6 References

[1] J. M. Chapin and W. H. Lehr. Mobile broadband growth, spectrum scarcity, and
sustainable competition. In 39th Research Conference on Communication, Information and
Internet Policy, Arlington, VA, USA, September 14–17 2011.

[2] A. A. Lysko, M.T. Masonta, and D. L. Johnson. “Measuring the Television White Space
Opportunity in Southern Africa Using Field Measurements”, pages 75–116. Springer, White
Space Communications, D. L. Johnson & A. K. Mishra (Eds), 2015.

[3] A. A. Lysko, M. T. Masonta, and L. Mfupe. Field measurements done on operational

TVWS trial network in Tygerberg. Cape Town TVWS Trial - Technical Report, Available
from: http://www.tenet.ac.za/tvws, 2013. [Accessed: 2018-08-19].

[4] Matthee, K., Mweemba, G., Pais, A., Rijken, M., & van Stam, G. (2007). Bringing
Internet connectivity to rural Zambia using a collaborative approach. In IEEE/ACM
International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development
(ICTD2007), 15 to 16 Dec 2007, Bangalore, India.

[5] Backens, J., Mweemba, G., & Van Stam, G. (2010). A rural implementation of a 52 node
mixed wireless mesh network in Macha, Zambia. In A. Villafiorita, R. Saint-Paul, & A. Zorer

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(Eds.), E-infrastructures and e-services on developing countries, first international ICST
conference, AFRICOM 2009, Maputo, Mozambique, December 3-4, 2009. Proceedings (Vol.
38, pp. 32–39). Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer.

[6] T. F. Bissyandé & G. van Stam (Eds.), e-Infrastructure and e-Services for Developing
Countries, 5th International Conference, AFRICOMM 2013, 25-27 Nov, Blantyre, Malawi,
Revised Selected Papers (pp. 95–103). Springer International Publishing.
http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08368-1_11

[7] K. Jonas, I. A. Rai, & M. Tchuente (Eds.), E-infrastructures and e-services on developing
countries, 4th international ICST conference, africomm 2012, Yaounde, Cameroon,
November 12-14, 2012, revised selected papers (Vol. 119, pp. 211–220). Berlin, Heidelberg:
Springer.

[8] https://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2018/db0511/FCC-18-59A1.pdf
Date Accessed: 2 August 2018

[9] http://www.internetlivestats.com/internet-users/zimbabwe/
Date Accessed: 5 August 2018

[10] https://www.theindependent.co.zw/2006/09/29/understanding-the-digital-divide/
Date Accessed: 5 August 2018

Shariwa Madhumbu
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