RURAL INTERNET MARKET PENETRATION THROUGH SUPER WI-FI TECHNOLOGY Chek Derashid1, Hatim Mohd Tahir2, Mohd Fareq Abd Malek3, Hasliza A Rahim@Samsuddin3, Mohd. Amir Abu Seman4, Wan Rozaini Sheik Osman5, Rohani Husin5, Mazri Yaakob6 1

School of Accountancy, Universiti Utara Malaysia, 06010 Sintok, Kedah 2 School of Computing, Universiti Utara Malaysia, 06010 Sintok, Kedah 3 School of Electrical System Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Kangar 02000, Perlis 4 School of Multimedia Technology & Communication, Universiti Utara Malaysia, 06010 Sintok,Kedah 5 ITU-UUM ASP CoE For Rural ICT Development, Universiti Utara Malaysia, 06010 Sintok, Kedah 6 School of Technology Management & Logistik, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Sintok 06010, Kedah [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] ABSTRACT - In early 2013, household broadband penetration in Malaysia has exceeded 66.7 per cent. However, the digital gap between urban and rural areas still exists. The rural communities still facing some issue in internet connectivity since many internet providers have less motivation to invest their resources in such areas. This project is undertaken with two objectives. First, to provide internet access to rural community with reasonable cost through the implementation of “Super Wi-Fi” technology. Second, to develop interactive internet local contents using Content Management System that can be utilised among rural folks. Two rural areas were selected as testing grounds, Bandar Baru Beris Jaya, Sik, Kedah and Kampung Oran, Mata Air, Perlis. Using existing infrastructure, the Streamyx, a high power modem antenna that called „Super Wifi‟ assist Streamyx to increase the coverage of current Wi-Fi signals being developed. The coverage of existing Wi-Fi signal is quite limited and can only be accessed for those who stay nearby. While waiting for the antenna to be ready for implementation, the high power antenna available in the market is used. Those who are stay within the coverage areas may enjoy the internet access. The internet is connected through one access point whereby users are required to login using pin number given to them free of charge during the trial period. Local contents, mostly focusing on educational materials, are developed based on input given by the people in the selected areas and keep all the information in their portal. We received positive feedback from the villagers because they are now having opportunity to enjoy the internet access which is not available previously. They really appreciate the knowledge portal since all the information reflects their needs. The same technology and method can also be applied to other rural areas in order to offer an equal opportunity to rural folks to enjoy the internet access with reasonable cost.

Keyword: Super Wi-Fi, Rural connectivity, Internet access. Local contents

PENEMBUSAN PASARAN INTERNET DI LUAR BANDAR MENERUSI TEKNOLOGI “SUPER WI-FI” ABSTRAK - Di awal tahun 2013, kadar penembusan jalur lebar bagi isi rumah di Malaysia telah melebihi 66.7 peratus. Walau bagaimanapun, jurang digital antara penduduk di kawasan bandar dan luar bandar masih wujud. Masyarakat luar bandar masih menghadapi masalah dengan sambungan internet kerana pembekal perkhidmatan internet kurang bermotivasi untuk melabur sumber-sumber mereka di kawasan luar bandar. Projek ini dijalankan dengan dua objektif utama. Pertama, untuk menyediakan akses internet kepada masyarakat luar bandar dengan kos yang berpatutan melalui pelaksanaan teknologi “super Wi-Fi”. Kedua, untuk membangunkan isi kandungan internet tempatan yang interaktif menggunakan Sistem Pengurusan Kandungan yang boleh dimanfaatkan oleh penduduk luar bandar. Dua kawasan yang dikelaskan sebagai kawasan luar bandar telah dipilih sebagai tapak ujian iaitu Bandar Baru Beris Jaya, Sik, Kedah dan Kampung Oran, Mata Air, Perlis. Melalui penggunakan infrastruktur yang sedia ada, iaitu streamyx, satu modem antena berkuasa tinggi yang mampu meningkatkan liputan isyarat Wi-Fi yang sedia ada sedang dibangunkan. Liputan isyarat Wi-Fi yang sedia ada agak terhad dan hanya boleh diakses oleh mereka yang tinggal berdekatan. Sementara menunggu antena yang dibangunkan sedia untuk dilaksanakan, antena berkuasa tinggi yang terdapat di pasaran digunakan. Mereka yang tinggal di dalam kawasan liputan boleh menikmati akses internet. Sambungan internet dibuat melalui satu pusat akses di mana pengguna perlu login terlebih dahulu dengan menggunakan nombor pin yang diberikan secara percuma kepada penduduk sepanjang tempoh percubaan. Isi kandungan tempatan yang kebanyakannya menumpukan kepada bahan-bahan pendidikan, dibangunkan berdasarkan input yang diberikan oleh masyarakat di kawasan-kawasan terpilih dan semua maklumat ini disimpan di dalam portal yang dibangunkan. Kami menerima maklum balas positif daripada penduduk kampung kerana mereka kini mempunyai peluang untuk sama-maka menikmati akses internet yang tidak terdapat sebelum ini. Mereka juga benar-benar menghargai portal pengetahuan yang dibangunkan kerana semua maklumat yang dipaparkan mencerminkan keperluan sebenar mereka. Teknologi dan kaedah yang sama juga boleh dilaksanakan di kawasan luar bandar yang lain agar penduduk luar bandar juga mempunyai peluang yang sama untuk menikmati akses internet dengan kos yang berpatutan. Keyword: “Super Wi-Fi”, Luar Bandar, Akses Internet, Kandungan Tempatan

INTRODUCTION In Malaysia, the usage of internet services has become wider especially in urban areas. Recognizing the importance of ICT in this global era, communities in rural areas were also exposed to this borderless e technology. However, internet service coverage in rural areas is still limited and the cost of internet usage is relatively higher. As a matter of fact, the use of internet services is not considered as a priority for the rural folks especially for those in the lower income group. There are various initiatives have been implemented by the government and relevant agencies to increase the use of internet in rural areas, however the level of acceptance and access to the Internet services is very minimal. Furthermore, the private telecommunication companies and internet providers still reluctant to invest in the rural areas due to higher investment cost with no guarantee of making profit. Thus, the telecommunications companies tend to focus on providing Internet access only in urban areas. Through this project, the academicians of UUM and UNIMAP will cooperate with industry partner, Sri Kemudi Computer (SKC) to purpose an upgrade of the existing Wi-Fi infrastructure in selected rural areas. Internet traffic congestion is also an issue to the internet users not only for people in urban area but also to people in rural areas. It has become a common phenomenon for those who need to access pictorial and graphical data such as videos or movies. Moreover some information from the internet may not be appropriate or relevant to the rural communities. These factors contribute to the lack of internet usage in rural areas. In order to meet the communities demand and to reduce the internet congestion, our team is planning to develop local content which is more appropriate and relevant to them. Therefore, this project is undertaken with the aim to provide internet services to the rural folks through the implementation of “Super Wi-Fi‟ technology and to work together with the local community in developing local contents which is appropriate to the needs of local community.

Background of the Programme Technology and the dissemination of information to community is very important nowadays. The development of a country to such extent is depends on its level of technology. As such, in Malaysia, especially in rural areas various ICT initiatives and infrastructure have been implemented to enhance the use of technology. Various initiatives are designed and implemented, for example Kampung Wi-Fi, Internet 1Malaysia, Digital Library, Pusat Internet Desa (PID) and Pusat Jalur Lebar Komuniti (PJK), as the country's efforts towards bridging the digital divide, but there are many rural areas are still lags behind in term of technological advancement. These areas have very limited internet coverage and if any, the services provided are still not satisfactory. These problems occurs because of the cost to set up a high telecommunications tower is very expensive, the market is not attractive and not-interesting enough which make private sectors are reluctant to invest in rural areas. Hence, government agencies, private companies, entrepreneurs and policy makers for the fixed-line telecommunications are given more focus on urban areas which is heavily populated and profitable. The less focus in rural areas may affect the overall country's internet penetration rate. Therefore, this project is to some extent will help to overcome the problem. Through the development of Super Wi-Fi system by putting a few access points (by upgrading the existing antenna) in rural areas which are relatively have very limited internet coverage, the rural people will now have an opportunity to enjoy internet access with reasonable cost. A number of rural areas will be selected as a pilot

project. Several locations in Kedah and Perlis have been identified for the implementation of this project. The selected local communities can enjoy internet connection using fixed telephone line connected with this Super Wi-Fi technology. The Wi-Fi broadcast by the Super Wi-Fi technology will be available for connection using their owned equipment including personal computers, laptops, mobile phones and gadgets with a minimal (reasonable) cost. Existing Wi-Fi system (through industry initiative) has been implemented successfully in the city areas such as Penang and Kuala Lumpur. With affordable rates and quality of service offered, the demand in urban area is very encouraging. In order to expand the market and support the rural communities with quality internet service, the upgrading process from existing Wi-Fi system to Super Wi-Fi will be implemented in accordance with the specific requirements of the selected locations and demands. This technology is beneficial to the villagers so that they could access the internet with low and cheaper rate as compared to the existing Internet services. There is no additional infrastructure required since this technology will make use of existing data lines provided by TM. This program is also expected to contribute to the economic growth and assist to enhance the knowledge of local community. Indirectly it will help the country to achieve its target of 75 per cent Internet penetration of all households by 2015 (SKMM, 2011). The 2013 data shows that the current internet (broadband) penetration in the country is 66.7 per cent. Another aspect which is closely related to the internet access is the need of the local contents which are appropriate to the needs and demands of the community. As such the contents will be developed based on local community‟s demand. This content will be broadcast in a network called local area network (LAN) to facilitate rural communities to access information and knowledge within a minimal time rate.

LITERATURE REVIEW The advancement of technology is able to move forwards the nation culture with a much faster rate. Computer and digital network that links people represent an important tools to inform, educate, deliver services, entertain and connect the people around the world (Kimery, K., & Amirkhalkhali, 2011). The fast and efficient dissemination and retrieval system is able to prepare a more knowledgeable community so that it will support the economic development of the country. As in other developing countries, Malaysia has also developed and implemented various initiatives and investments to increase ICT knowledge for its people. Thus, communities are expected to contribute to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) through ICT knowledge to improve the country‟s economy. In Canada, policy makers, business people, researchers, educators and individuals have recognized that the high investment in ICT is very important for future human capital development and competitiveness (Kimery, K. and Amirkhalkhali, 2011). As a support to the country to increase the GDP and Internet penetration, the internet coverage in rural areas should be expanded. There are several challenges that must be overcome by the internet service provider in order to provide internet access to the communities. The challenges are the distance between wireless nodes, low bandwidth to surf the internet, the lack of power generation and the high cost of internet connection (Johnson, Belding, Almeroth, & Stam, 2010). Wireless network system that uses a single access point (central access point) is not suitable for implementation in rural areas. This is due to less dense population and in many cases, the settlements are scattered around the village. As a result, the best performance is achieved through the use of wireless network or wireless mesh network (Johnson, Belding, Almeroth, & Stam; 2010). The nodes can be placed in

several locations in each village with a broader coverage to users even in scattered locations. In addition, technological culture involves all manner of thoughts, actions and practices to address the technological and environmental changes that occur in a society (Bakri & Mohamed, 2008). This can be applied by providing relevant content needed by the community that can be accessed as fast as possible in the local network. The relevant local content is important in ensuring the use of the network by rural communities (Clark & Gomez, 2011). Movies was among the highest media products transferred via Internet (Guo Chen, Xiao, & Zhang, 2005; Mochalski, 2009). There are several protocols that can be used in delivering movies to consumer. A study of internet traffic in year 2008/2009 shown that peer-to-peer (P2P) is the most popular protocol compared to usual Hypertext Transfer Protocol (http) because there is no need for a fast network (Mochalski, 2009). Video stream is another way to share videos. The challenge for this method is that it requires a large network bandwidth in transferring contents. In situations where the bandwidth is very limited, the media stream is not suitable (Guo et al, 2005). Therefore, the streaming media such as Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) is suitable for implementation in networks with large bandwidth such as local area networks (LANs).

Objectives Of The Project The main objective of this program is to share knowledge among academia and industry on specific Super Wi-Fi technology for rural areas. Other objectives are: 1. To share the knowledge of the existing Wi-Fi system 2. To share the knowledge of the Super Wi-Fi system and network design 3. To share the knowledge of the antennas for Super Wi-Fi system development 4. To share the knowledge of local content METHODOLOGY The aims of this project are twofold. First, to develop a Super Wi-Fi antenna that can be used to increase the coverage of existing Wi-Fi signal. Second, to assist rural folks in developing local contents which will be totally based on their needs. We divided the implementation of this project into two parts, technology and contents developments. The team from Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UNIMAP) will concentrate on developing Super Wi-Fi antenna using Computer Simulation Technology (CST) while the team from Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) will focus on developing suitable local contents for selected rural folks. For the beginning we choose two villages, Bandar Baru Beris Jaya, Sik, Kedah and Kampung Oran, Mata Air, Perlis for the pilot project. The villages were chosen based on certain criteria such as availability of fixed telephone lines, people density and the willingness of the leaders of the chosen village to cooperate in the implementation of the project. Bandar Baru Beris Jaya is a new settlement provided by the government to give way for the development of Beris Damp. The village consist of about 600 unit houses within 5 km radius. Since the project will make use of the existing infrastructure, the availability of fixed telephone lines in the area becomes our main criteria. In Bandar Baru Beris Jaya, one house had been chosen to be our based while in Kampung Oran, the mosque is used. Since the owner of the house at Bandar Baru Beris Jaya has not subscribed to any telephone line before, we have to subscribe the services prior to the implementation of the project.

Fortunately, the Wi-Fi service in Masjid Kampung Oran has been operating for the past few years. Thus we used the existing services and integrate onto our project. In order to develop the Super Wi-Fi antenna, we have to import certain materials from South Korea. The process of importing these materials consume much of our times because we have to get custom clearance before such items can be imported. After we received the materials, the team from UNIMAP is working on developing and designing the Super Wi-Fi antenna. While waiting for the completion of the antenna, we used high power antennas which are available in the market. These antennas were installed in the chosen location and we monitor the development using the client server managed by the industry partner, Sri Kemudi Computer. In Bandar Baru Beris Jaya, a base antenna with several repeaters were installed in order to transmit the Wi-Fi signal to other areas within the village. As a result, the coverage areas have been extended to cover areas which are quite far from the base (as depicted in Figure 1).

Figure 1: Location of the Antennas During the trial period, those who interested to use the Wi-Fi service are provided with access card with 500GB data usage. In order to use the service, they have to login to the server using pin number attached to the access card. Those who run out of credit and interested to continue using the service are charged at RM6.00 for the additional access card.

Technology Part The Super Wi-Fi antenna is designed using Computer Simulation Technology Microwave Studio 2011. The design is in form of two by two (2x2) patch array microstrip rectangular antennas with microstrip coaxial feed with slots rectangular and without slots and with operating frequency at 2.45GHz. The design has 3 layers consist of ground plane, substrate and the patch. The design of the antenna array is started by selecting the suitable patch shape of the antenna. The rectangular patch is chosen because it simplifies the analysis and performance prediction. This antenna has been designed to operate at 2.45GHz with input impedance of 50 Ω, using Taxonic TLY-5 (lossy) (εr = 2.2) and

height (h) of 1.5748 mm. The design starts with the simple rectangular microstrip antenna with inset feed. Then, the microstrip antenna is simulated using the CST software. For this case, the dimension of the patch is 13 mm length and 12 mm width with coaxial feed line. Comparatively, Taxonic TLY-5 (losssy) has a low dielectric constant which results to a big patch size, small tangent loss and high gain. Performance evaluation on the array antenna is consequently conducted once the single patch antenna has been established. The specifications of the rectangular antenna are listed in Table 1. Table 1: Design Specification for Rectangular Patch Antenna Frequency Substrate Dielectric Constant, εr Loss Tangent Substrate Height Copper Thickness

2.45GHz Taxonic TLY -5 (lossy) 2.2 0.0009 1.5748mm 0.035mm

The are two different types of antenna, Figure 1 show the original antenna without slots and Figure 2 shows the rectangular patch array antenna with 4 rectangular slots into patch antenna. The slots have dimensions as shown in the figure below. The slots consist of a rectangular slot of length 1.0mm and width 1.0mm. Figure 1 and Figure 2 shows the configuration of the 2 x 2 microstrip patch array antenna design at 2.45GHz. A coaxial feed is connected to the centre of array from the other side of substrate. Power divider and quarter-wave transformer impedance matching sections are used to couple the power to each element for radiation. T junction power divider and quarter wave transformer impedance matching sections were used to couple the power to each element for radiation. The output line Z1 and Z2 can then be selected to provide various power divisions ratio. Thus for 50 Ω input line a 3dB power divider can be made using two 100 ohm output lines.

Figure 1: Rectangular 2x2 patch array antenna without slots

Figure 2: Rectangular 2x2 patch array antenna with slots into patch antenna

Contents Development We develop contents based on the demand and requirements of the selected communities. Bunches of data are gathered via interviews and observations to ensure the sustainability of the contents to the community. This information was then integrated into a community portal that has been developed by us. On the other hand, the development of the contents will help to fulfil the needs of the rural community and relevant according to their current situation. Moreover, as the materials are gathered and park in local server, it will reduce the internet traffic congestion. The people will able to access the information they require much faster compare to the information that is directly uploaded from the remote server. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Since the design of the Super Wi-Fi antenna takes some time to complete, we used high power antenna available in the market to test the implementation of our project. In Bandar Baru Beris Jaya. we managed to extent the coverage of the Wi-Fi signal covering much wider are as shown in Figure 1. The coverage has benefited people who are quite far from the based station. Some of the people in the covered areas are the recipients of “Notebook 1Malaysia” program. They are the one who enjoy the benefit immediately. The response from the people is very positive. This is indicated by the demand of internet access card with data usage of 500GB provided free of charge to them during the trial period. We have to get additional card with minimal charges of RM6.00. During the trial period the government has also implemented the program known as “Internet 1Malaysia‟ in the same village and used Welfare Office and Mosque as their based. However, due to slow connectivity problem, our system is much preferred. The implementation of the high power Wi-Fi antenna is temporary while we complete the design of the Super Wi-Fi antenna. The existing antennas will be replaced if our design is proven to provide better services and performance. With regards to the design, we design and simulate the antennas using CST. The simulation data shows that the antenna without slots result in return loss of -30.798 dB at operating frequency of 2.45GHz, while the return loss rectangular patch array antenna with 4 rectangular slots using the same operating frequency is increase to -

35.391 dB. With regards to the percentage increase of bandwidth, the simulation shows that the percentage increase of bandwidth using patch array antenna with slots is estimated 1.89% compared to 1.84% using antenna without slots. This suggests that the patch array antenna with rectangular slots had increase the bandwidth of the antenna compared to the antenna without rectangular slots. Meanwhile, simulation of radiation pattern of rectangular patch array antenna without rectangular slots shows that directivity of 11.91 dBi and a gain of 11.61 dB. In contrast, the radiation pattern of patch array antenna with rectangular slots shows the directivity of 11.96 dBi and 11.64 dB. As both radiation patterns were compared, it can be concluded that the array design antenna with the slots generates more intensity or focus at the centre of the radiation. We have successfully designed the rectangular patch antenna array with and without rectangular slots operating at 2.45 GHz and found that four rectangular slots contributed significantly to the achievement gain of 11.64 dB.. The results also suggested that the performance of the patch array antenna with the rectangular slots outperform the one without rectangular slots in terms of directivity, bandwidth and gain. The antenna with slots is also capable of functioning at 2.45GHz with a return loss of -35.391dB and it has a big potential for a wider Wi-Fi application. In addition, the performance of the micro strip array antenna strongly depends on several factors such as coaxial feeding line technique, type of substrate, the thickness and dielectric constant of substrate respectively. This will enable the antenna to be used for point-to-point communication and other modern communication applications depend on the frequency of the radiating patch.

SUMMARY The Super Wi-Fi project is undertaken to give rural people an opportunity to get connected to the internet with reasonable cost. The implementation of the Super Wi-Fi project in Bandar Baru Beris Jaya and Kampung Oran can be replicated and implemented to other villages around Malaysia. This project will help the government to increase the percentage of broadband penetration especially in the rural areas and in line with the government policy to narrow down the digital divide among urban and rural society in Malaysia.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The project is undertaken under the Knowledge Transfer Program (KTP) (Grant Number: I – eco/35 (UUM-12)), Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE). Financial assistance from both MOHE and Economic Planning Unit (EPU) is greatly appreciated.

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