Project factsheet information

Project Title Connecting the Unserved – Bhutan's First Trial with TV White Space Technology
Full name and acronym NANO
Address

Thimphu TechPark

Wangchuktaba, Babesa

Thimphu 11001

Bhutan

Phone +975 2 330330
Fax +975 2 363636
Website www.nano.bt
Dates covered by this report: 01-05-2020 – 01-05-2020 –
Report submission date 30-04-2020
Country where project was implemented Buthan
Project leader name Tshering Norbu
Email
Project Team Tshering Gyeltshen [email protected]
Jigme Namgyel [email protected]
Hem Kumar Ghalley [email protected]
Partner organization
Total budget approved 30000
Project summary

This project conducted Bhutan’s first trial with emerging TV White Space (TVWS) technology to deliver broadband Internet access to the unserved areas and determine its appropriateness or not in Bhutan where the terrains are mountainous, thickly forested and rugged, and where building wired network infrastructures is technically and commercially challenging.

 

Implementation timeline was initially scheduled for 8 months – set to start from around 3rd week of October 2018 and complete by June 2019. TVWS was completely new to us being in its early stage of an emerging technology. We researched and studied including case studies of its deployments, and identified potential Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) who were also limited in number. We shortlisted and evaluated three TVWS manufacturers: Carlson Wireless Technologies (US), Runcom Communications (Israel) and Saankhya labs (India). We chose Carlson Wireless. When we were finalizing Bill of Materials after a long design discussion and negotiation with them, we learnt they had long lead time, delay and some cases of even failing to manufacture/supply. That put huge dent to our implementation time. We did not risk and had to switched to another OEM, Redline Communications (Canada) – who carried good recommendation on their company’s credibility and technology performance. Then playing order to Redline who manufactured and supplied/delivered based only on the order consumed several months. We could complete installation of the final site of the total five deployments in March 2020. The entirely in all activities extended our project implementation timeline to 16 months.

 

Major activities included: field survey of two base stations and selecting only one, seven client sites survey and selecting only five; study, evaluation and selection of TVWS OEM; ordering and supply/delivery of equipment; making sites readiness; actual installation, implementation and commissioning of networks – for provisioning Internet; providing support assistance and monitoring of network performances for evaluation.

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