Project 1. Heterogeneous wireless technologies for universal access to Internet broadband with applications in rural areas
In addition to the wide range of new applications covered by wireless telecommunications and the Internet of Things (IoT) and their immense economic and social potential, the lack of Internet services in rural and low population density areas is the last frontier to achieve access to broadband Internet. The rural part of Ceará is an example of a challenging scenario, where more than 40% of Brazilian homes still do not have access to the Internet, and among those that have it only 22% are located in rural areas. In addition, only 13% of schools in rural areas have Internet access. At the same time, it is possible to complement rural access scenarios by integrating the terrestrial 5G network system and the optical ring (digital belt) to a satellite network, allowing support for data collection, analysis and management of IoT services. A careful study of the integration of these networks to serve rural areas in Ceará is of interest in this proposal. Another relevant problem is water consumption and agriculture. In 2015, 75% of water consumption in Brazil was due to agricultural activity. In addition, about 27% of the water captured and directed to this activity was lost in the process. At the same time, Ceará has been facing the longest drought since 1910, causing incalculable social and financial losses. To change this scenario, it is necessary to design low-cost solutions to be used in agroindustry to keep it competitive and efficient in terms of water use. To that end, low-power wireless sensor networks operating at low frequencies provide a good balance between cost-effectiveness, water use efficiency and crop productivity. This project will study, develop and evaluate innovative solutions to enable wireless technologies to be applied in rural areas in an efficient way. Resorting to the hybridization of different technologies, such as mobile phones, wireless sensors and satellite systems, it is intended to show how broadband Internet access can be directed to rural areas of low population density, especially in the state of Ceará. Applications in agriculture will allow the digitization of farms and fields and new methods of GNSS reflectivity will allow monitoring of soil moisture, wetlands and lakes to better understand water cycles and optimize their use in agriculture.
