The adoption of TV white space technology as a rural telecommunication solution in Indonesia

Abstract

The complex problems in the rural area caused the gap in telecommunication infrastructure between urban and rural areas so that technological solution that fit with the rural characteristics are required. Based on the literature, we argue that TV White Space is an appropriate technology alternative for rural conditions. The FCC and ECC have issued standards on the utilization of white space frequencies for secondary purposes that may be adopted by other countries. However, the challenges for developing countries like Indonesia are certainly different from those in developed countries. In this study, we do a preliminary simulation to find out under what conditions the FCC model encounters constraints on its implementation. The performance of the FCC model will decrease as the number of TV transmitters increase. Otherwise, by looking at the condition of Indonesia, some locations have more than one TV transmitter. Based on simulations, we found the potential method to improve the performance of the FCC model to be applied in the overwhelming areas by the TV transmitters.