Institute of Engineering, Tribhuvan University 19, 2025 — A team of Nepali engineers from the Institute of Engineering, Tribhuvan University, has published groundbreaking research that could help bring faster and more reliable internet to remote and rural areas worldwide.

In their study, “Joint Placement Optimization and Sum Rate Maximization of RIS-Assisted UAV with LEO-Terrestrial Dual Wireless Backhaul”, the researchers — Naba Raj Khatiwoda, Dr. Babu R. Dawadi, and Prof. Dr. Shashidhar R. Joshi — proposed a novel framework that integrates Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites, and Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RIS) to significantly boost 6G network performance.

The study, published in the international journal Telecom (MDPI, Switzerland), shows that with optimized placement of UAVs and RIS panels, and by applying advanced algorithms, network coverage can be improved from 62 percent to 100 percent, while spectrum efficiency increases by nearly 24 percent.

“Our research demonstrates that Nepal can contribute to solving some of the most pressing global connectivity challenges,” said Dr. Dawadi, the corresponding author of the paper. “This system is especially vital for hard-to-reach areas — rural villages, disaster-hit zones, or dense urban environments — where traditional infrastructure is difficult or expensive to deploy.”

The team tested several advanced optimization algorithms, concluding that a hybrid Particle Swarm Optimization–Grey Wolf Optimization (PSO-GWO) model offered the best performance. With this approach, not only was universal coverage achieved, but the overall network throughput also increased substantially.

The research was supported by the University Grants Commission (UGC), Nepal, under a competitive research grant principally investigated by Dr. Babu R. Dawadi.

Experts believe this work positions Nepal as a growing contributor to cutting-edge global research in 6G and non-terrestrial networks (NTN). The findings could also influence the deployment of future communication systems designed to support technologies like holographic communication, digital twins, and autonomous systems.

The full paper is available online at https://doi.org/10.3390/telecom6030061