An assessment study on white spaces in Malawi using affordable tools

Abstract

For rural areas, wireless is the only viable alternative for providing affordable telecommunications services. One limiting factor to the growth of wireless broadband penetration is the lack of available spectrum. White Spaces broadband uses gaps in spectrum bands that have been reserved for TV broadcasts. These frequencies offer significant capacity to help alleviate pressures on existing wireless networks and allow connectivity in remote areas due to their good propagation capabilities. This paper describes an assessment study on TV White Spaces availability in Malawi using affordable tools. The conclusion of the study is that 1) it is possible to assess the spectrum usage using low cost equipment 2) ample spectrum for TV White Spaces deployment is available in Malawi.