# State of the Art of Telecommunication Systems in Isolated and Constrained Areas
## 1 Introduction  
Smart objects are being deployed globally, thus contributing to improved communications and the growth of industrial systems' performances. In the urban environment almost everywhere, the technological challenges are slowly being lifted, and the advances in this sector are exponential. Unfortunately, isolated territories are generally excluded from this progress [1]. Indeed, most communities living in these regions are apart from the rest of the planet. Their geographical isolation is characterized by the absence of a road network and rough weather conditions, especially during the winter. For example, in Northern Canada, temperatures can be very low in the winter: between \(-40\) and \(-50\)\({}^{\circ}\)C during long periods. Snowfall is also frequent, and the height of the snow mixed with ice is significant. In that context, the population's movement conditions are more difficult, which reinforces individuals' isolation. This geographical isolation, reinforced by the difficult climate, is aggravated by complex and too costly telecommunication solutions. The lack of technological development, including access to energy and communications, penalizes the population in isolated regions. They are generally more affected by poverty and have less equipment than the industrialized zones to deal, for example, with environmental problems. We count about two billion people living in these isolated sectors around the world. Regions of Northern Canada are no exception. Thus, about two hundred thousand people are living in isolated regions in Canadian territory. Nunavut [2] is, in that regard, an excellent example of an isolated territory [3]: Inuit communities are not connected to the electricity network of the province despite the presence of very productive hydroelectric stations [4]. Even though the resources in clean, renewable energies [5] are abundant, the fourteen communities must use non-renewable fossil fuels. However, the development of those communities is not only slowed down by an outdated energy supply [6], they are also dependent on the fact that the telecommunication systems are not or not much deployed in those regions. Yet, an efficient telecommunication system allows, among other things, to connect people of the whole planet. As the information revolution accelerates, universal access to those new telecommunication technologies must federate the efforts to introduce sustainable development. The absence of telecommunication systems penalizes not only internal communications but also external communication. For example, an individual connected to other community members can be rapidly taken care of in an emergency. This is the case, for example, if one's physical integrity is threatened or if a violent environmental event occurs in the isolated region. The communities could be warned upstream, and an emergency plan could be put in place to avoid, or at least reduce human disasters. Thus, sensors could be placed in the isolated sector's strategic places and be linked to create a network, generating critical warnings of changing nature. Quebec's North Shore, with the northern trains of the Tshiucetin company (\"north wind\" in Innu), is a concrete example of the contribution that a network of sensors in an isolated environment could provide. The company transports ore from Schefferville (north of Quebec) to Sept-Iles, and it also carries passengers. The company operates the section of track between Schefferville and Emeril. However, this isolated sector extends over approximately 250 km. A network of sensors connected through a powerful telecommunication system would make it possible to secure the journey by warning, for example, the driver of a fall of minerals on the track or locating a broken train in full winter [7]. The cost of responding to a disaster when an adequate telecommunication system could have avoided it is staggering.