Connecting Rural India to the Internet: The Challenges of Using VSAT Technology

By Stephanie San Miguel
February 2001

Case study from Development Alternatives (DA)

About DA

Organization: TARAhaat.com (part of the Development Alternatives Group)

Objectives: Promoting sustainable livelihood generation in India through Internet access.

Staff: Approximately 25 employees divided between the Delhi and Jhansi offices making up the core team, and a number of outside contributors and consultants providing content and advice in all areas.

Partners: SDCN members, others listed on Web site page http://www.devalt.org/partners.htm and http://www.tarahaat.com/tara/aboutusEnglish

Introduction

In its goal to connect rural India to the Internet and promote livelihood generation through e-commerce and access to information, TARAhaat.com faced the fundamental problem: connecting rural villages to the World Wide Web in the first place. Many villages in the Bundelkhand region where TARAhaat is in its pilot phase do not have access to telephone lines. The quality of the lines reaching other villages is not sufficient to transmit data. TARAhaat therefore had to come up with an alternative if it was to achieve its mission: that alternative was the use of VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) technology.

VSAT technology is a communication network set up through a series of receiver/transceiver terminals, which range from 0.6 to 3.8 metres in diameter, connected by a central hub through a satellite. VSAT is capable of supporting Internet, data, LAN and voice/fax communications. This technology is useful over geographically dispersed areas and in places where there is no infrastructure established.

Partnership: Getting and using the VSAT units

A partnership with Hughes Escorts Communications Limited provided the solution to TARAhaat's connectivity problem. Hughes would supply six Extended C-Band VSAT units worth Rs. 550,000 each (approximately CDN$18,300) for the pilot phase in exchange for becoming the exclusive VSAT supplier during the expansion stage of the project.

This partnership has allowed TARAhaat to connect an initial 10 computers in six rural villages to the Internet with only minimal financial input. Under this agreement, TARAhaat is only responsible to pay for bandwidth use and a special fee to the Department of Telecommunications for use of the VSAT units.

Hughes' server in Gurgaon on the outskirts of Delhi serves as a "hub" from which the VSAT units in the Bundelkhand connect to communications satellites. Sharing Hughes's bandwidth of about 60KB, which has only slightly reduced the overall connection speed, TARAhaat is able to provide Internet access to villages that before could not even receive a telephone call.

Challenges and solutions

Using VSAT technology was the only option for TARAhaat if it wanted to provide connectivity to rural areas. So far, the VSAT units have been working well despite challenges along the way. There are still some challenges to overcome.

Location
Finding a suitable location for the VSAT units was one of the main challenges faced by the TARAhaat team. The team had to find a location that was protected from the elements and that would allow the VSAT a clear line of sight to the satellite in order to establish a reliable connection. Indeed, the positioning of the unit is so sensitive that even slight changes in direction due to strong winds or accidental movement of the dish could cut transmissions from the satellite and thus, the connection to the Internet. To re-position the unit, a technician would have to travel the 400 kilometres from Delhi, a process that could take several days. Therefore, in order to prevent accidental movement of the unit in the often-windy region, the VSAT units had to be anchored to the ground.

Earthing
The VSAT units are highly sensitive to changes in voltage and have to be properly earthed in order to protect the equipment from overloading and from lightning strikes. After technical consultation with Hughes, it was decided that a copper plate had to be placed in a deep pit and connected to the unit via copper wiring in order to provide an adequate amount of protection. Although this posed a technical challenge (copper wiring is not commonly used in India), most of the challenges were due more to the environmental conditions in the Bundelkhand region than to technological limitations.

For instance, actually digging the pit posed the first major challenge. The Bundelkhand region, where most of the pilot villages are located, is notoriously rocky and the soils are shallow. In order to dig a pit 4.5 metres deep, some drilling of the base rock and several days of backbreaking work were required.

Once the pit was dug, the second challenge was to find skilled electricians who could conduct the delicate work of connecting the VSAT to the copper plate. For reasons already mentioned, few had previous experience working with such equipment.

A third challenge was keeping the copper plate moist in the semi-arid climate. To maximize moisture retention, a mixture of salt and charcoal was used to fill the pit. Despite this measure, the earthing pit still has been watered daily in order to keep moisture at a suitable level. During the dry season, an additional watering once per week with a salt solution is required. In small villages like Punawali, this poses a logistical problem, since the requisite amount of salt has to be brought in from the larger town of Jhansi over 14 kilometres away. In addition, the entire area is water scarce and can barely spare the 40 to 50 litres of water needed daily to keep the pit moist. However, the necessity of the earthing pit for ensuring the safety of the unit requires the extra investment in time and resources.

Power Supply
India is normally supplied with a 220V current, but the voltage can from 150V to 280V. This is problematic since the VSAT units provided by Hughes are designed to operate on 220V. Stabilization of the voltage supplied by the power lines is critical since too much voltage will damage the equipment and too little voltage will cut the connection to the Internet.

To provide a stable voltage of 220V to the VSAT units, an offline Constant Voltage Transformer (CVT) and an Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) unit have to be used. Both units are needed since the power supply has a tendency to cut off at any given time of the day, necessitating the use of a back-up generator. Spikes in voltage occur quite often. The CVT unit has a range of 150V to 260V and is usually sufficient on its own to smooth the current, but since it is offline, there is a short delay between the power spikes and the unit kicks in. Although measured in milliseconds, this delay is enough to interrupt the connection and shut down the VSAT unit. In order to overcome this problem, a UPS has to be used in conjunction with the CVT. The range of the UPS is much smaller, about 40V either way from the mean, but it has the benefit of being continuously online. Therefore, when changes in voltage occur or the voltage cuts off, it can continue supplying enough electricity to the unit without any delay. The two units are connected to the VSAT in the following manner: Electrical Supply » CVT » UPS » VSAT. The same system is used to power the computer units as well.

Another electrical problem faced by the TARAhaat team is a continuous 10V to 15V leak in the neutral line. This leak poses a danger to the VSAT unit and has to be dissipated by earthing the neutral line before connecting it to the VSAT unit. This requires running the neutral line to the earthing pit first and then wiring it to the VSAT unit. If the excess voltage is not dissipated, the line will burn and overload the system.

Conclusion

As pioneers in providing rural connectivity through VSAT technology, TARAhaat has had to overcome many challenges without the benefit of previous experience. The knowledge they have gained in these past few months is unique in the world and will be valuable as the project enters its next phase and TARAhaat branches out to other areas of India. No doubt the team will face additional problems that will require creative solutions, but their success in the six small villages in the Bundelkhand will serve as a reminder that rural connectivity with VSATs in India can be achieved.

Contact:

Development Alternatives
B-32 TARA Crescent
Qutab Institutional Area, New Delhi, India
110 016
tel: 91+11+685-1158, 696-7938
fax: 91+11+686-6031
e-mail:tara@sdalt.ernet.in