INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION IN RADIO COMMUNICATION NIGERIAN CASE STUDY

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INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION IN RADIO COMMUNICATION
NIGERIAN CASE STUDY

• M. O. AJEWOLE
• DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS
• FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, AKURE, NIGERIA

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• INTRODUCTION
• Radio communication and modern society
• EXAMPLE OF INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION IN RADIOWAVE
  STUDIES
• NIGERIAN CASE STUDY
• - OUR EXPERIENCE IN FUTA
• - COOPERATION OR COLLABORATION?
• SOME INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
• - Status of Nigeria in these organizations?
• CONCLUSION

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INTRODUCTION

• Co-operation in the field of scientific and
  technical research facilitates the stimulation,
  promotion and coordination of research in diverse
  areas. It is also concerned with basic and
  pre-competitive studies and activities that are
  usually of public interest.
• Earth-satellite radiowave communications for
  example are central to many new radio services
  which are designed to meet increasing
  communications requirements.
• The proper understanding of the influence of the
  lower and upper atmosphere on radiowave
  propagation for example is essential to support
  the design, implementation and operation of many
  modem communication systems.
• International collaboration on research,
  particularly pre-competitive research, brings
  many advantages in key areas. It allows the
  concentration of the necessary resources
  (financial and human) and facilitates the
  development of consensus.

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Radiowave communication and modern society

• The information society is now here with us and
  communications technology and services are an
  essential element in this new age.
• A number of players are involved in bringing new
  communication-based services and facilities to
  the home and to the workplace -
  telecommunications operators, navigation services
  for maritime operators, cable TV operators and
  terminal suppliers to entertainment, publishing
  and media companies.
• On the research front teams are working at the
  world and national levels requiring an increased
  scope for co-operation.

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Example of on-going international co-operation in
radio communication

• Real-time mapping of ionospheric variability such
  as over Europe and eastern Mediterranean by the
  National Observatory of Athens using a portable
  Digisonde Sounder

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International co-operations contd

• To contribute to acquiring real-time data for
  planning better HF communications and
  Earth-satellite communications world-wide 
• To support remote mapping and surveillance
• To develop forecasting models to study the
  influence of space weather on the Earths
  ionosphere. 
• Others engaged in international ionospheric
  co-operation are
• Center for Atmospheric Research, University of
  Massachusetts Lowell, USA

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International co-operations contd

• Instituto Nazionale di Geofisica, Rome, Italy
• Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Science and
  Engineering Research Council, UK
• IPS Radio and Space Services, Australian Forecast
  Center
• The Swedish Institute of Space Physics.
• The International Center for Theoretical Physics
  in Trieste, Italy, who have created the
  ionospheric data bank of COST 251 Action

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NIGERIAN EXPERIENCE

• Radio telescopes at UNN, Nssuka and RSUST, Port
  Harcourt supported by Japan
• Radiometric measurements at OAU, Ife
• NIMEX for boundary layer studies in FUTA OAU
  Ife
• Investigation of processes governing
  electrodynamics and cold plasma mass injection
  and loss in the low/mid latitude storm time
  plasmasphere-ionsphere system etc using a network
  of ground based magnetometer (to carried out at
  Unilorin) etc.

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OUR EXPERIENCE IN FUTA contd

• OUR EXPERIENCE IN PHYSICS DEPARTMENT FUTA
• HF field strength measurement
• Measurement of some rainfall parameters using a
  24 GHz vertically pointing radar
• Measurement of vertical distribution of
  atmospheric parameters such as P, T, Rh, RR, etc
  using wireless meteorological stations mounted at
  varying heights on a 200 m TV mast
• Study of dynamics of geo-space plasma changes
  during magnetic storms and aurora substorms etc
  using Magnetic Data Acquisition System (MAGDAS)
• Investigation of communication degradation due to
  ionospheric scintillation using Scintillation
  Network Decision Aid (SCINDA)

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NIGERIAN EXPERIENCECollaboration or co-operation?

• The NOA in Athens for example had a budget of
  130M to be expended in two years
• The radiometric measurements at Ile Ife was
  supported by the ITU-R, NITEL, and OAU Ile Ife
• These measurements were carried out
  simultaneously in Douala Cameroon, and Nairobi,
  Kenya
• Huge budgetary provisions were required for
  equipment and logistics
• Collaboration between institutions, individual
  researchers, etc for specific studies usually
  requires small budgets (lt 100,000)

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Collaboration or co-operation? contd.

• Collaboration is easier to initiate and execute
• It requires very little paper work
• Easier to obtain funding from external sources
• Preference for research collaboration
• The game is survival first !!!!

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Some relevant international organizations

• UN Office for outer space affairs
• URSI General Assembly and URSI Commissions
• The URSI Commission F encourages
• Radiowave study at all frequencies in a
  non-ionized environment
• Radiowave propagation through planetary neutral
  atmospheres and surfaces,
• Radiowave interaction with planetary surfaces and
  sub-surfaces including land, ocean and ice
• Characterization of the environment as it affects
  wave phenomena

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URSI Commission F contd.

• Commission F has sponsored or co-sponsored more
  than 30 meetings in the last five years.
• Mode A meetings can explicitly use the name and
  logo of URSI, but no financial commitment is
  involved.
• URSI grants a fixed, unconditional sum to
  meetings under Mode B sponsorship, but the
  support is strictly restricted to cover expenses
  of Young Scientists, key speakers, or other
  scientists considered essential to the meeting
  (but not organizational costs).
• Under sponsorship Mode C URSI grants to a meeting
  a sum that is to be regarded as a loan. This sum
  may typically be used to cover preparatory
  expenses. It may be combined with an additional,
  fixed unconditional sum to be used in accordance
  with Mode B. URSI should be involved in sharing
  any profits from the meeting under Mode C
  sponsorship.

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Status of Nigeria in some international
organizations Commission F

• EXPULSION OF NIGERIA FROM MEMBERSHIP OF URSI IN
  AUGUST 2002 DUE TO UNPAID DUES
• DEMISE OF PROF. G. O. AJAYI
• HAS THE SITUATION BEEN CORRECTED?
• ANY HOPE FOR PARTICIPATION IN MAJOR URSI
  SPONSORED MEETINGS?

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CONCLUSION

• Developing countries such as Nigeria are still
  far behind in investigating such issues that are
  central to improving many new radio communication
  services.
• Dearth of facilities remains a major cause of
  this backwardness
• Collaboration/co-operation with scientists in the
  north (hemisphere) can assist to bring about
  donation of basic research facilities which will
  help scientists in the south to leapfrog from
  their state of complete isolation into the
  mainstream of modern research.
• Data collected from such collaborative studies
  will allow the development of new improved
  regional procedures.
• Young scientists can through such programmes
  benefit from the expertise of scholars in the
  north, their scientific publications, attendance
  at meetings once some basic state of the art
  research facilities are domiciled in their region
• Re-integration of Nigeria into major scientific
  associations

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• THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION