LAUSR

Increasing access to telecommunication services in rural parts of the world has the potential to alleviate the digital divide felt by the people of these regions. Recently, both public and private sector entities have shown more interest in tackling this problem on a global scale. In the United States, for example, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) subsidizes large telecommunication companies to offer affordable services in unserved areas through the Connect America Fund. Facebook's Internet. org [1] and Google's Project Loon [2] are some examples of large-scale rural connectivity efforts in the private sector. Deployment of connectivity solutions in rural communities, however, faces many practical challenges. Lack of availability and access to reliable electricity sources is one of the major hindrances for rural connectivity, particularly in underdeveloped countries. As such, wireless connectivity solutions for such applications must focus on low-power hardware operations and high energy efficiency (EE).