eInfrastructure: Next generation wireless broadband networks for Uganda 2020

Next-generation wireless networks entail a high degree of flexibility, efficient use of available radio resources and an energy-efficient operation at low operational costs. They typically integrate use of technologies such as spectrum management, interference mitigation and management, and energy efficient technologies to deliver the broadband experience. This paper aims to project the 2020 broadband wireless network requirements for Uganda, a developing country. It identifies major environmental constraints that current and future network architectures will face, in particular, with respect to deployment density and throughput requirements. The Wireless World Research Forum wireless traffic model used in this paper projects throughput requirements as an aggregation of individual service requirements, service usage, and user behaviour. Our focus is on voice, mobile Internet and video that are currently among the highly utilized services in Uganda. In similar studies for developed countries, next generation radio access networks are expected to deliver twenty times more throughput and capacity than current networks.