Signal Propagation and Networking Fundamentals Required in Last Mile Connectivity Planning

The innovation towards last mile solutions that are capable of distributing internet access in emerging countries could, and should, emanate from the people facing these issues daily. The fundamental principles of transferring information from one point to another should be understood in order to challenge and improve current technologies that successfully serve the developed world. Electrical and optical signal transmission, as well as radio wave propagation, are at the core of transferring information over a medium. Attenuation, an inevitable physical property of any signal, determines the feasibility of a specific technology in a particular environment. Rural and underdeveloped areas often lack the infrastructure that delivers connectivity from the core network to communities. These communities are typically situated geographically distant from backhaul networks. To effectively plan and design last mile solutions to serve these areas, signal propagation through various media should be researched in order to determine the solutions that compliment the needs of each individual community. Once connectivity has been established, the fundamental principles of networking are also required to design efficient architectures that are capable of delivering the internet to end-user devices. This chapter reviews all these fundamental principles and serves as a reference for researchers in emerging markets that are committed to bringing internet connectivity to disconnected areas. The chapter provides the theoretical knowledge and research methodologies required when analyzing feasible technologies for solutions that are area-specific.