Foundation Projects

Connecting the Unserved - Bhutan's First Trial with TV White Space Technology

NANO

Bhutan is a land-locked country situated in the eastern heart of Himalayas. The terrain is very mountainous, forested and rugged to build wired network infrastructures. Thus, it is not possible to lay fiber for access networks to most of the areas in Bhutan. Those areas will be deprived of broadband Internet access unless an alternate technology is deployed.

In order to address this and as Bhutan’s first trial, this project implemented an emerging TV White Space (TVWS) technology – to study its feasibility of technology appropriateness to reach broadband Internet to the unserved areas. The study determined the suitability of TVWS technology in Bhutan where the Service Providers are grappling with the challenges of not being able to identify one particular technology to cater fixed broadband service where wired physical network (e.g. fiber) is not reachable.

Picture shows two monks, a man in a black sweater, and a dog, as some equipment is being set up on a mountainside.
Monks at one of the sites (Phajoding Monastery) learn how to handle troubleshooting and support.

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