Abstract-The cellular technology is mostly an urban technology that has been unable to serve rural areas well. This is because the traditional cellular models are not economical for areas with low user density and lesser revenues. In 5G cellular networks, the coverage dilemma is likely to remain the same, thus widening the rural-urban digital divide further. It is about time to identify the root cause that has hindered the rural technology growth and analyse the possible options in 5G architecture to address this issue. We advocate that it can only be accomplished in two phases by sequentially addressing economic viability followed by performance progression. We deliberate how various works in literature focus on the later stage of this 'two-phase' problem and are not feasible to implement in the first place. We propose the concept of TV band white space (TVWS) dovetailed with 5G infrastructure for rural coverage and show that it can yield cost-effectiveness from a service provider's perspective.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Today, the advancements in urban technology have transformed into the concept of smart cities. These smart cities are envisioned to be heavily dependent on wireless sensor networks and internet of things. In this context, a number of routing protocols have been proposed in literature for use in sensor networks. We articulate on why these routing protocols need to be segregated on the basis of their operational mechanism and utility, so that selection of these protocols results in network longevity and improved performance. We classify these protocols in four categories in terms of topology incognizant, data centric, location assisted and mobility based protocols. We identify the prevailing open issues to make space for more productive research and propose how these categories may be useful in terms of their operational utility.