This presentation was given in the 9th EAI International Conference on e‐Infrastructure and e‐Services for Developing Countries (AFRICOMM 2017), on December 12th, 2017 in Lagos, Nigeria.

1. 9th EAI International Conference on e‐Infrastructure and e‐Services for Developing Countries (AFRICOMM 2017)
Lagos, Nigeria, December 2017
Building Sustainable Villages for Developing Countries
André Pereira, Pedro Madureira, Carlos Resende, Pedro Almeida, and Waldir Moreira | Fraunhofer Portugal AICOS
waldir.junior@fraunhofer.pt
SV4D ARCHITECTURE
REMARKABLE TECHNOLOGY, EASY TO USE
REMARKABLE TECHNOLOGY, EASY TO USE

2. 2© 2017
1. Access to Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
i. Today
2. Sustainable Villages for Development (SV4D)
i. Goals
ii. SV4D Architecture
iii. ICT4D Communication Infrastructure – WiBACK
iv. Framework for Occasional Connectivity – Postbox Sync
v. Ecosystem
3. SV4D preliminar performance evaluation
i. SV4D Testbed
ii. WiBACK performance evaluation
iii. Postbox Sync performance evaluation
4. Acknowledgments
1. Agenda

3. 3© 2017
1. Access to ICT
Today
 ICT development
 Mobile broadband outpaced fixed one (avg. price drop of 50%);
 Half of the world’s population is connected (70% of youth are online).
 However:
 67% in developing countries;
 30% in
Least Developed Countries;
 90% of non-connected
youngsters are in Africa or
Asia and the Pacific;
 Gender gap:
 Africa – connected women is 25%
lower than men.
Source: ITU Facts and Figures 2017

4. 4© 2017
 Promote the access to broadband Internet and ICT in developing countries;
 Create a global network of rural villages;
 Establish ICT Living Laboratories to support multidisciplinary ICT4D projects:
 Health, Agriculture, Education, Government, …
 Encourage the development and deployment of e-services
(e-health, e-learning, etc…);
 Reduce digital divide and improve quality of life.
2. Sustainable Villages for Development
Goals

5. 5© 2017
2. Sustainable Villages for Development
SV4D Architecture
SV4D – Sustainable Villages for Development
Agriculture
Hydroponic
Farming
ICT4D Communication
Infrastructure
…
…
…
E-Government
Culture &
Education
Health
Framework for
Occasional Connectivity

6. 6© 2017
 Carrier-grade service quality:
 Voice and data transmission;
 Large area coverage;
 Low-cost wireless technology.
 Low OPEX:
 Auto-configuration;
 Self-management;
 Self-healing;
 ‘Plug & Play’ System:
 Municipalities;
 Telcos.
 Works in license free spectrum > Access: WLAN, 3G, 4G, FM-Radio,...
2. Sustainable Villages for Development
ICT4D Communication Infrastructure – WiBACK

7. 7© 2017
 Allows exchange of digital information in unconnected rural areas;
 Software Framework for occasionally connected
Android Phones that allows storing and relaying of data:
 Data ‘moved’ (relay) between phones until one phone is
reaching a covered area to synchronize;
 Full Offline support for Online applications;
 Automatic data synchronization with 3rd-party REST services;
 Geo-referenced data support;
 Multi-user support with traffic and session management;
 Multiple data collection applications support;
 Data transfer support between devices via WiFi, Bluetooth and NFC;
 Support for sensitive data encryption.
2. Sustainable Villages for Development
Framework for Occasional Connectivity – Postbox Sync

8. 8© 2017
2. Sustainable Villages for Development
Ecosytem

9. 9© 2017
3. SV4D Preliminary Performance Evaluation
SV4D Testbed
 FhP North: Connected to the FhP test network by Ethernet, and extends access to SV4D
network and cellular services;
 FEUP: extends the Internet and cellular services to FhP South;
 FhP South: Include a commercial Wi-Fi AP and a GSM BTS providing internet access and
cellular services to users.

10. 10© 2017
 Link capability
 Depends on proper antenna alignment, clear line of sight, and updated WiBACK software;
 90 Mbps on uplink and downlink reached after some iterations on the above items.
3. SV4D Preliminary Performance Evaluation
Comm4Dev infrastructure
 Access technologies
 Cellular services
available at around
200 meters;
 WiFi services available
around 35 meters.

11. 11© 2017
 Tested intermittent connectivity feature with different test users
 Simulating potential usage situation of online and offline connectivity;
 First phase - issue on the attachment of big file to the message to send:
 Time to access the email inbox grew exponential with the attachments size;
 Solution: email parsing process reviewed and inbox access time reduced (50%).
 Second phase - issue on the communication pairing process:
 Establishing communication link between devices and the exchange of Postbox Sync packages;
 More than one user attempted to pair with Postman;
 Different MAC address (new user) led to failure;
 Solution: application interface improved, indicating conclusion of previous data exchange.
3. SV4D Preliminary Performance Evaluation
Postbox Sync Framework

12. 12© 2017
 SV4D architecture shows great potential for deployments in underserved communities to
allow mitigating the effect of digital divide;
 Performance evaluation of the SV4D communication infrastructure and software
framework shows that it has the level of maturity to be deployed in real work scenarios;
 Next step - deploy pilots in Mozambique, Cape Verde and São Tomé and Príncipe:
 First phase: communication infrastructure installed to provide internet access to the users:
 Schools, formation institutes, universities, hospitals, public spaces;
 Closely monitored to be fine tuned to allow the best experience for the user;
 Second phase: development and deployment of applications over the Postbox Sync framework;
 Digital services (e.g., education, health, e-government).
3. SV4D Preliminary Performance Evaluation
Conclusion and future work

13. 13© 2017
4. Acknowledgments
DeM – Deus ex Machina CTFhP – Collective Transfer FhP

14. 9th EAI International Conference on e‐Infrastructure and e‐Services for Developing Countries (AFRICOMM 2017)
Lagos, Nigeria, December 2017
SV4D ARCHITECTURE
REMARKABLE TECHNOLOGY, EASY TO USE
REMARKABLE TECHNOLOGY, EASY TO USE
Building Sustainable Villages for Developing Countries
André Pereira, Pedro Madureira, Carlos Resende, Pedro Almeida, and Waldir Moreira | Fraunhofer Portugal AICOS
waldir.junior@fraunhofer.pt