Abstract
This thesis presents work on the problem of digital divide in the developing world. Africa is one of the
continents where a huge number of rural communities have complained about the unavailability or poor
broadband performance from the currently available Internet Service Providers (ISP’s) service. In respect
of internet user statistics of 2012, there were 700,000 users in Malawi translating to internet penetration of
4.2%. Most investors in the ICT industry shun investing in rural areas because of high Capital Expenditure
(CAPEX) of equipment and low Average Revenue Per User (ARPU).
The research was carried out on the newly installed and commissioned TV White Space network
infrastructure with the aim of bridging the digital divide in the rural tea growing district called Mulanje.
The second aspect was focusing on designing associated low cost network elements like antennas. A
network performance comparative analysis was also done with the existing TVWS network infrastructure
which was installed in the University town called Zomba taking into account that the two test beds were
using different equipment.
In respect to scope of research work, literature review was conducted and the TVWS network was
designed, installed and commissioned. In addition to the overall TVWS network, Novel work on the design
of two low cost UHF TVWS antennas namely Z and Helical Antennas has been done. The Z antenna is a
practical client antenna whereas the helical antenna is a Base station antenna and this antenna was filed for
patent. A critique on some helical antenna publications has also been done to demonstrate how superior
and exceptional the proposed antenna is. The gain of helical antenna is higher than existing practical
deployed antennas on the market manufactured by 6Harmonics and Carlson’s equipment manufacturers.
Such antennas can be used for varied applications in the UHF frequency band.
D.Ing.