Singapore trials long-range Wi-Fi
12 September 2019
by Jonathan Andrews
Singapore has begun a six-month trial to provide low-cost long-range wireless connectivity for data transmission using the broadcast band known as TV White Space (TVWS).
The trial–conducted jointly by the Singapore Land Authority, GovTech, and the country’s civil aviation authority–will take place on five islands, chosen due to their popularity with day trippers.
“TVWS can potentially be an affordable and reliable solution to enable technologies such as sensors, IoT and robotics to be deployed in areas of Singapore with limited 4G and Wi-Fi coverage,” Lim Chinn Hwa, Senior Director (Smart Nation Platform Solutions), GovTech told Cities Today. “With this trial in the southern islands, GovTech hopes to expand public agencies’ situational awareness in operational and urban planning, bringing about improved manpower efficiency.”
TVWS is a radio spectrum in TV broadcast bands, commonly used for broadcasting analogue signals. It is less affected by externalities like sea waves, weather conditions and obstacles like ships.
The agencies will work with a Singapore start-up, Whizpace, to explore the possibilities of long-distance wireless connectivity across the sea to the islands 10 kilometres away and monitored for robustness.
Whizpace was chosen specifically as its solution is scalable and can support drone deployment–one of the use cases that is being trialled.
Thong Wai Lin, Assistant Chief Executive (Land Operations), Singapore Land Authority said: “[We manage] some 11,000 hectares of state land and use [drones], sensors and IoT applications for a more efficient and effective management of state land. However, intermittent and poor connectivity in the southern islands has hampered the deployment of such technology. TVWS could provide the network connectivity enabling the use of these devices in the southern islands to improve our maintenance regime and raise productivity.”
Lim Chinn Hwa added that depending on availability and quality of the frequency and technicalities of the equipment solution, the maximum throughput could reach speeds of 24Mbps IP throughput based on channel bonding. The norm deployment can achieve up to 8Mbps, dependent on the deployment site and surrounding conditions.
At the end of the trial the three agencies will assess the outcome before expanding to the rest of the southern islands.
