1) The document discusses a project to connect Mulanje Secondary School in Malawi using TV whitespace technology. 2) TV whitespace utilizes unused spectrum in the UHF TV band to provide broadband connectivity. It was used to connect the secondary school, nearby teacher training center, and other institutions. 3) The network achieved throughput of 420kbps and latency of 118ms, allowing students to access educational online content and use social media for the first time. This demonstrated the potential of TV whitespace to expand internet access to rural areas in Malawi.

1. Connectivity of Mulanje secondary
school using TV Whitespace
technology
Final Project
Ndaona Muyaya
In partial fulfillment of Advanced
Spectrum management course
3rd May 2018

2. The new world
• Outline
• Introduction
• TV White Space
technology
• Regulatory framework
• Project successes
• Recommendations and
way forward.
• References

3. Introduction
• Malawi is a landlocked country with an
estimated population of 17.2million(IHHS2016).
ICT penetration hovers around 6.7 percent.
• Malawi Communications Regulatory
Authority(MACRA) is a body corporate
established through an Act of Parliament (1998)
mandated to regulate telecommunications,
broadcasting and provision of postal services in
Malawi.

4. Introduction continued….
• Growing demand for spectrum facilitated roll out of
TV white space technology in Malawi in 2015.
• It was noted that utilization of service sharing within
frequency bands is one of the alternatives that can
be deployed for spectrum efficiency.
• TV White space utilizes free spectrum channels in
the UHF TV band.
• Malawi in partnership with the University of Malawi
and Microsoft Corporation initiated a TV white
space project to provide broadband connectivity to
rural educational institutions.

5. Network deployment
• The TVWS networks were deployed in Zomba
and Mulanje districts. In Zomba district, the
network has been deployed at St. Mary’s
Secondary School, Geological Survey, Pirimiti
Hospital and Malawi Defense Force with an
average throughput of 420 kbps per station and
latency of 118 ms.

6. Network deployment in Mulanje and
Zomba
Network deployment GPS Coordinates
The TVWS networks was deployed in
Zomba and Mulanje districts. In
Zomba district, the network was
deployed at St. Mary’s Secondary
School, Geological Survey, Pirimiti
Hospital and Malawi Defense Force
with an average throughput of 420
kbps per station and latency of 118ms.
Mulanje TVWS Base Station
160 1.4686’ S
350 30.387’E
Mulanje Secondary School, Computer
Laboratory
160 0.5053’ S
350 29.3492’E
Chitakale Teacher Development
Centre (TDC)
160 1.5034’ S
350 30.0833’E

7. Tvws installation in Mulanje
Fig. 2: Low latency for the
Mulanje TVWS network
128.64.32.254 is the gateway
on the Cisco router (TVWS BS in
Mulanje)
41.87.7.141 is the internet
gateway at Stadium exchange in
Blantyre
128.64.32.50 is the client
server PC at Chitakale TDC
128.64.50.30 is the client PC at
Mulanje Sec. School

8. The commissioned TVWS Base Station (BS) Inside Mulanje
MTL Exchange
TVWS network links in
Mulanje

9. TV white spaces achievements
Wawww experience by the students
Students surfing the internet
at Mulanje secondary school

10. Achievements continued…
• Students have been able to access education
content online
• Access to internet has also promoted e-learning
among rural people who patronize the facility in
the afternoon hours.
• Social media utilization had also increased
among learners at the targeted institutions.

11. Users and students accessing internet
at Mulanje secondary school

12. Internet of Things….the future

13. Regulatory framework
• MACRA developed TV white space regulations in
2017 to guide spectrum usage in TV whitespaces.
• This will guide optimal usage of spectrum
available for TV white space.

14. Conclusion
• With the current internet penetration rate of 6.7%,
the project opened new frontiers in
telecommunication especially for rural areas in
Malawi which were underserved by ICT services.
The project demonstrated that the TVWS technology
performed very well during both rainy and dry
seasons. It is observed that unlike other fixed
broadband services, TVWS services demonstrated
2.6 times better data rates given the same operating
conditions.
• Scaling up TVWS technology would increase access
to mobile broadband among rural communities.

15. Recommendations
• Regulatory agencies must strive to develop
regulations that shall encourage deployment of
TVWS using mobile broadband.
• It is recommended that more TVWS sites be
established to harness the digital dividend.
• National wide TVWS spectrum determination. The
data will help in the creation of White Spaces Map
for Malawi.
• There is need to study electromagnetic field
radiation from TVWS devices for safety of the users
and surrounding communities.

16. References
• TV White spaces A pragmatic approach;E Pietrosemoli
and M.Zennaro (2013)
• Mikeka, C, (2013) “Piloting White Spaces for Spaces in
Malawi,” Proceedings and report of the 6th UbuntuNet
Alliance annual conference, ISSN 2223-7062
• Digital Dividend Insights for spectrum decisions (ITU;
August 2012)
• Strategies for successful telecommunications regulation
in weak governance environments (1999) Peter
L.Smith&Bjorn Wellenius
• Advanced Spectrum management-GSMA slides(2018).