Publication

Abstract : Our research center has developed a cost-effective marine communication network architecture to provide affordable Internet access to marine fishermen. This solution uses a multi-level infrastructure network based on long range Wi-Fi and TDMA for backhaul. Directional antennas are used to increase the range. Standard Wi-Fi connectivity is provided on the boats to which the fishermen connect using their smartphones. The various angular and linear movements of the boat due to the oceanic waves will impact the alignment of the directional antenna to the base station thereby affecting the link quality. In this work, the extent of such movements is modeled theoretically, and the values are compared with the actual results obtained from field trials for sea states 4 and 5. It is also shown that the signal strength fluctuations are higher when the sea is rougher. Finally, future work planned for further analysis based on experimental modeling is also described. © 2017 Copyright is held by the owner/author(s).