Community Radio for Lessons: Coverage Radius and Cost per Learner Reached

A low-power FM transmitter can carry lessons to learners with no books and no network. This paper computes the radio-horizon coverage of a 30 metre mast, converts the covered area into learners reached under stated density and access assumptions, and prices the transmitter per learner. Terrain shadowing will cut the idealised area, and the paper states the discount a planner should apply rather than hiding it. Computed results: horizon_km = 24.6, coverage_km2 = 1902, learners_reached = 22819, cost_per_learner_usd = 0.11, tx_power_W = 50. Every number in this paper is produced by the accompanying script `compute.py`. SIMULATED, NOT MEASURED.

Authors

Publication Details

Journal
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Published
2026-11-10
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.24113449
Primary Topic
ICT in Developing Communities
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Community Radio for Lessons: Coverage Radius and Cost per Learner Reached

William Alexander Aldred
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
ICT in Developing Communities
article

Community Radio for Lessons: Coverage Radius and Cost per Learner Reached

William Alexander Aldred
article en

Abstract

A low-power FM transmitter can carry lessons to learners with no books and no network. This paper computes the radio-horizon coverage of a 30 metre mast, converts the covered area into learners reached under stated density and access assumptions, and prices the transmitter per learner. Terrain shadowing will cut the idealised area, and the paper states the discount a planner should apply rather than hiding it. Computed results: horizon_km = 24.6, coverage_km2 = 1902, learners_reached = 22819, cost_per_learner_usd = 0.11, tx_power_W = 50. Every number in this paper is produced by the accompanying script `compute.py`. SIMULATED, NOT MEASURED.

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
ICT in Developing Communities
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Community Radio for Lessons: Coverage Radius and Cost per Learner Reached — William Alexander Aldred · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) (2026) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS