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The creation of a master plan document is imperative.
This document will list the necessary services, what is
needed for delivery, and a roadmap for future services.
For wireless signals, some city areas are not well
served. Large skyrises and other obstructions can block
signals. Some cities have sightliness ordinances, rooftop
restrictions, and other zoning restrictions that need to be
addressed. But as a whole, any wireless communication
can be restricted by distances spanned, frequency limit-
ations, multipath and fading, signal loss, movement
of users, density, and saturation. Just as it is essential
to coordinate wired components, it is equally impor-
tant to plan for unbounded communications. Different
frequencies travel different distances. A municipality
will likely implement a blend of unbounded solutions.
In all cases, wired and wireless services must be designed
with integrated security in mind.
FIGURE 2: "Solutions Map," showing technology and connectivity options to meet the specific needs of rural environments
for digital transformation.
The core of the plan involves communications
services. These include optical fiber, cellular, Wi-Fi,
long range wide area network (LoRaWAN), narrow
band IoT (NB-IoT), CB radio, satellite, Ethernet, and
all other means of connectivity. Spectrum will be
a consideration for open-air/unbounded communica-
tions, and optical fiber will be the predominant
backhaul for connectivity where possible. Bear in
mind that in many rural areas, the cost to install
fiber may be cost prohibitive without grants or other
funding (Figure 2).
