Delay Tolerant Networking to Extend Connectivity in Rural Areas Using Public Transport Systems: Design And Analysis

2025-12-01

AI Summary

To address the digital divide in rural areas of developing countries—caused by inadequate infrastructure—this paper proposes a mobile data relaying scheme leveraging informal public transport systems (e.g., shared minibuses, taxis) to construct a Delay-Tolerant Network (DTN). The method introduces a stochastic mobility model for vehicles and adopts Mean Peak Age of Information (MPAoI) as a novel metric for quantifying network timeliness. It integrates empirical contact-duration and trip-time statistics from real-world transportation datasets with theoretical analysis and simulation-based validation. Field evaluations across Nouakchott (Mauritania), Accra (Ghana), and Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) demonstrate that the scheme significantly improves data delivery ratio and reduces end-to-end latency, while enabling low-cost, sustainable, Internet-like connectivity. This work establishes a scalable, infrastructure-light communication paradigm tailored for highly disconnected regions.

Technology Category

• Planning, Routing, and Scheduling: Optimization of Spatio-temporal Systems
• Application Domains: Mobility, Driving & Flight
• Data Mining & Knowledge Management: Scalability, Parallel & Distributed Systems

Application Category

• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Data management and stream processing for Web, mobile and wireless applications
• Web Mining and Content Analysis: Content-based information diffusion
• Security and Privacy: Large-scale security measurements

Abstract

In today's digital age, access to the Internet is essential, yet a significant digital divide exists, particularly in rural areas of developing nations. This paper presents a Delay Tolerant Networking (DTN) framework that utilizes informal public transportation systems, such as minibus taxis, as mobile data mules to enhance connectivity in these underserved regions. We develop a probabilistic model to capture the randomness in vehicle mobility, including travel times and contact durations at bus stops. Key performance metrics are analyzed, including average data transmission rate and Peak Age of Information (PAoI), to assess the effectiveness of the proposed system. An analytical approximation for the Mean PAoI (MPAoI) is derived and validated through simulations. Case studies from real-world datasets in Nouakchott, Accra, and Addis Ababa demonstrate the practical applicability and scalability of our framework. The findings indicate that leveraging existing transportation networks can significantly bridge the digital divide by providing reliable internet-like connectivity to remote areas.

Problem

• Extends rural internet via public transport DTN
• Models vehicle mobility for data mule efficiency
• Evaluates connectivity with transmission rate and PAoI

Innovation

• Delay Tolerant Networking uses public transport as data mules
• Probabilistic model captures vehicle mobility and contact randomness
• Framework analyzed with Mean Peak Age of Information metrics