  The penetration of wireless broadband services in remote areas has primarily
been limited due to the lack of economic incentives that service providers
encounter in sparsely populated areas. Besides, wireless backhaul links like
satellite and microwave are either expensive or require strict line of sight
communication making them unattractive. TV white space channels with their
desirable radio propagation characteristics can provide an excellent
alternative for engineering backhaul networks in areas that lack abundant
infrastructure. Specifically, TV white space channels can provide "free
wireless backhaul pipes" to transport aggregated traffic from broadband sources
to fiber access points. In this paper, we investigate the feasibility of
multi-hop wireless backhaul in the available white space channels by using
noncontiguous Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (NC-OFDMA)
transmissions between fixed backhaul towers. Specifically, we consider joint
power control, scheduling and routing strategies to maximize the minimum rate
across broadband towers in the network. Depending on the population density and
traffic demands of the location under consideration, we discuss the suitable
choice of cell size for the backhaul network. Using the example of available TV
white space channels in Wichita, Kansas (a small city located in central USA),
we provide illustrative numerical examples for designing such wireless backhaul
network.
