From TIER

RJ’S Visit Objectives and Deliverables

USAID Telematics Advisor Brian King sought collaboration from the University of Berkeley and Intel Laboratories to provide technical assistance to the Last Mile Initiative Projects in the Africa Region. As a result, Consultant Richard Edward Honicky Junior (RJ) from the University of California, Berkeley visited Guinea-Bissau LMI Project, beginning November 7 and ending November 14, 2006. Following were the visit objectives and deliverables:

1. Ensure that Douglas Mpweire and Eguitel Technicians have a good understanding of the low cost link that RJ and Intel Labs have developed and are using, so that it can serve as an inexpensive way to jump off of the existing infrastructure (canopy);
2. Get an idea of the conditions of the radio stations and recommend what technology package would work to extend connectivity to them and/or (hopefully) help them form part of a secondary, more cheaply deployed backbone network that could work to expand services to new communities;
3. Look at the applications side for the radio stations and identify a sturdy box that can plug into the mix board and out to the WiFi antenna that will enable radio stations to share content, speak to each other, broadcast to each other, and otherwise collaborate in real time;
4. Generate ideas on ways to reinforce peer-to-peer backup by a device (a box sitting in a Network Operations Center) ready to re-load any lost content or catch up new members;
5. Also generate ideas on how to deploy the above device in cheap and ruggedized fashion (a solution that would be replicable across the continent):

Technology Training

In order to ensure that Douglas and Eguitel Technicians have a good understanding of the low cost link that RJ and Intel Labs have developed, and can use it to serve as an inexpensive way to jump off of the existing infrastructure (canopy) in Guinea-Bissau and other LMI sites, RJ trained Douglas and three Eguitel technicians in the following skills:

• How to do the configuration of the router and radio in the Intel/Berkeley kits;
• How to do the alignment;
• Basic trouble shooting techniques .

Amidu was further trained in:

• Using the "Radio Mobile" software as a planning tool.

Site Visits

In conjunction with Eguitel Technicians and Douglas, RJ visited the radio stations of Mansoa, Bula, Quinhamel and Bubaque and reported the following actions:

Activities

• The team installed the necessary equipment in and tested the bandwidth and links of Bissau-Mansoa and Bissau-Bula;
• Site surveys were conducted at Quinhamel and Bubaque radio stations;

Findings

• There is a clear line of sight for Mansoa and Bula;
• A hop will be needed for Bubaque;
• The links from to Mansoa and Bula are not yet operational, because reliable power has not yet been installed. This will require a visit by Eguitel technicians. They will need to install battery backup system capable of running the router during the periods when the radio station's generator is not running.
• Although the links, as they are configured, have sufficient bandwidth to support VOIP, audio streaming and Internet access, the configuration of them needs to be tuned. Berkeley engineers will perform this tuning remotely once the links are continuously operational. The process for this tuning will be documented for the Eguitel technicians. Current bandwidth for Mansoa and Bula are 250Kbps and 500Kbps respectively, far below the expected data rates of approximately 4-5Mbps. This discrepancy can be accounted for by configuration tuning, as well as interference from adjacent channels in Bissau, but of which can be easily solved.
• Because Eguitel already uses 2.4GHz spectrum extensively within Bissau, Amidu and RJ agree that switching links connecting to Bissau to 5.xGHz channels would be advisable. RJ/Berkeley will help Eguitel to select the equipment.
• Radio DjanDjan at Bubaque has very nice equipment and facilities, as does Mansoa. Quinhamel was not viewed because the caretaker was not available. Bula has spartan equipment;
• Some training will be needed to build up on the current capacity of the radio stations staff members;
• The enclosure currently used for the radios is unlikely to withstand multiple severe rainfalls. Berkeley will determine a suitable replacement;
• Use of compass is crucial, especially where there has been no previous exposure to or experience in extending connectivity to radio stations.

Recommendations

• Install a power system at the two radio stations;
• Switch the radio and antennas from 2.4 to 5 GHZ spectrums to avoid interference;
• RJ is to send antennas and radios for the 5 GHZ spectrums;
• Plan to order the above radios and antennas on time to board the prospective shipment that Eguitel is expecting from the USA; (Note: this equipment could not be shipped by the vendors in time for the shippment from the USA)
• Build on the capacity of the radio stations staff members.

Network Architecture and Equipment

RJ recommended two networking technologies to allow each radio station to syndicate and subscribe to content from each other station.

1. IP-Multicast based streaming: IP Multicast is an efficient mechanism whereby data consumers can subscribe to data channels. The routers in an IP Multicast network automatically figure out the most efficient way to distribute the data over the network, thereby conserving precious bandwidth. VLC is probably the best free tool for this application, supporting both Windows and Linux, and specifically designed for broadcast. VLC supports video as well, but can support audio-only streams, and has a relatively easy-to-use interface. This could be deployed immediately.

1. TIERStore based stream archival: TIERStore is a distributed databased specifically designed to operate in challenging network environments, in which links are unreliable. In these types of networks, TIERStore propagates data hop-by-hop (rather than end-to-end, as with IP), so that subscribers to data such as recorded audio eventually have access to that data, even if is not available immediately due to network problems. TIERStore provides the networking and storage infrastructure to build an archive of radio programs in a reliable and efficient way. An application specific to radio program archival would need to be developed on top of this infrastructure.

One possible hardware platform for radio stations which lack them is GeekCorps' Desert PC, which is specifically designed for use in radio stations in Mali. Inveneo also has an Ultra low power PC. Inveneo's solution might make sense since Eguitel is already using them, and thus would provide a common platform. These platforms would need to be tested with the proposed applications to ensure that they would be sufficiently powerful, but the most likely would serve very well.

Conclusion

The weeklong visit allowed to successful enhance the capacity of two groups of participants. Eguitel technicians and Douglas are now capable of handling similar equipment installation and testing across Guinea-Bissau and other LMI countries. It further transpired that, as a result of training, both groups of participants can improve on their current capacity through continued field experience and exchange with RJ and the Intel Labs.