Improving Telecommunication Infrastructure in Rural Communities: Signal Strength and Path Loss Evaluation in Selected Communities

Abstract

The study evaluated the signal strength and proposed improvements in telecommunication infrastructure in rural communities of Binalbagan, Negros Occidental. Three communities were selected, namely Barangays Enclaro, Payao, and Bi-ao, where signal strength was determined, uplink and downlink budgets were calculated, cell radius was calculated, and the the base transceiver station was proposed. Based on the measurements of signal strength across three telecommunication networks, Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart), Globe Telecom, Inc. (Globe), and DITO Telecommunity Corporation (DITO), the following results were as follows. Based on the time of measurement that occurred in 2021, for Brgy. Enclaro, the average signal strengths were -107.85 ± 1.50 dBm (Smart), -92.1 ± 2.67 (Globe), and -101.55 ± 2.82 dBm (DITO). For Brgy. Payao, the average signal strengths were -83 ± 1.08 dBm (Smart), -84 ± 1.59 (Globe), and no signal for DITO. For Brgy. Bi-ao, the average signal strengths were -107.45 ± 3.33 dBm (Smart), -109 ± 2.77 dBm (Globe), and no signal for DITO. The uplink budget was calculated to be 197.68 dB, while the downlink budget was calculated to be 168.50 dB. The cell radius was calculated to be 13.27 km. Various coordinates were presented as possible locations for base transceiver stations. These findings present the need to address communication gaps, especially in terms of augmenting the signal strength to provide access to the rural communities.