BUILDING A WIRELESS NETWORK in Developing Countries ( Part 1 )

Building a wired network can be quite challenging in developing countries. The biggest issue is that it requires a tremendous amount of investment those countries can't easily obtain. To face this problem , wireless network can be build to provide internet connectivity to the masses. It's cheaper to build , easier and faster to install , and easier to maintain. This is the first of an eight parts article that will challenge the main obstacles faced by people trying to implement a wireless network in those countries :power, management, installation , money , distance, partners and customers , security, information and licensing .


PART I: POWER


First we can use wind power. It is best designed for systems build on hills or mountains. To be effective , wind generator should be 6m higher than any other objects within a distance of 100m , and the average wind speed over the year should be at lest 3 to 4 meter per second. On of the advantage is that the wind generator can charge the batteries even at night as long as there is sufficient wind. Nevertheless, for most locations , the cost of a good wind generators is not justified by the meager amount of wind power it will add to the system.
Secondly , we can use solar power. Solar power uses the ability of certain material to convert solar energy into electrical energy. A few organizations have produced maps that include average values of radiation for different regions. For most of those regions, especially sub-Saharan, the minimum daily radiation is 4,000 watts per meter squared. The amount of power required by wireless equipment depend not only on the architecture but also on the network interfaces and traffic. Generally, a low consumption card will use between 3 to 4W. A high power card consumes around 6W and a repeating station with two radios requires 8-10W. The components required to set up a solar power system are : solar panels, regulator, and batteries. The regulator's role is to avoid overcharging and overdischarging the battery. The cost of implementing this system without taking into account installation cost is about $2,300.
Power Over Ethernet (POE) can be used to provide power to devices. In this case , power is provided to wireless equipment using unused pairs of a standard Ethernet cable. A maximum of 13W can be provided over the cable without interfering with date transmission on the wire.