Network planning for remote area telephony

Extending telephone service to a remote area needs careful planning of what services to give and of the fundamental technical plans that make the network work and remain manageable during failures and overloads. Assumed case: a hilly rural area of Nepal with scattered villages, no road access in some places and an unreliable power supply.

Major network services to consider

• Basic voice telephony (fixed and mobile) including public call offices.
• Data and Internet access (mobile broadband, Wi-Fi hotspots) for schools, health posts and local offices.
• Emergency services (police 100, ambulance 102) with priority.
• SMS and value-added services – mobile banking, e-governance, agriculture/market information.
• Leased lines for banks, government offices.

Network plans to prepare (with reasons)

1. Traffic and demand forecast plan: estimate subscribers, calling rate and busy-hour traffic (Erlang) so that the right number of circuits and radio channels is provided (e.g. for 1% GoS).
2. Numbering plan: assign area codes and subscriber numbers that fit the national plan and leave room for growth.
3. Routing plan: decide how calls reach the parent exchange/core – primary route plus alternative routes for overflow and for link failures.
4. Switching plan: choose a remote switching unit or concentrator connected to a host exchange rather than a full exchange, to save cost.
5. Transmission plan: choose media suited to terrain: microwave radio, VSAT/satellite for very remote sites, optical fibre along roads, and wireless access (GSM/LTE base stations, WLL). Set loss and quality limits.
6. Signalling plan: compatible signalling (SS7/SIP) with the national network.
7. Synchronisation plan: clock distribution for digital links.
8. Charging/tariff plan: affordable rural tariffs; use of the Rural Telecommunications Development Fund as per NTA rules.
9. Power plan: solar panels with batteries and backup generators, since grid supply is weak.
10. Network management plan: remote monitoring (NMS), alarms, redundancy (ring topology, standby equipment), traffic control during overload (call gapping, priority to emergency calls), and maintenance teams and spares.
11. Environmental and site plan: tower sites, lightning protection, access roads, rights of way.

Argument: in remote areas traffic is low but cost per subscriber is high, so wireless access and satellite/microwave backhaul with shared switching is the most economical choice; redundancy and good network management are essential because repair trips are slow and the area may otherwise be isolated in emergencies.