Microsoft announced the establishment of a partnership with Viasat, a communications company, to extend the reach of the Internet that covers Africa, Central and North America.
According to both companies, this agreement pursues the intention of providing broadband access by satellite, initially, in remote regions to 10 million people, of which 5 million on the African continent.
Microsoft’s plan to bring the Internet to remote areas
During a US-Africa Leaders Summit, Microsoft announced their alliance with the Californian communications company, which is part of the Redmond company’s Airband initiative, which proposes to provide meaningful connectivity as a fundamental right through public-private partnerships and with non-profit sectors.
Viasat, a satellite service provider, is the first partner of this action, which will be dedicated mainly to the work already started by the initiative in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Guatemala, Mexico and the United States, in addition to expanding the program to Egypt, Senegal and Angola.
“By working with Viasat, we will use satellite to reach remote areas that previously had few, if any, conventional connectivity options. Together, we will be able to rapidly scale and expand Airband’s reach, exploring a broader portfolio of projects and new countries we haven’t worked in yet.”said Teresa Hutson, vice president of Technology and Corporate Responsibility at Microsoft.
According to Microsoft, the airband target is to provide Internet access to 250 million people around the world, including 100 million in Africa, by the end of 2025. To do so, they must use satellite solutions, both in geostationary orbit, low altitude, and terrestrial fixed wireless access. , according to the conditions of each territory to be covered.
“Bringing internet access to the world is a challenging and bold goal, and doing it in a sustainable and responsible way will unlock lasting opportunities for those who need it most”said Evan Dixon, Viasat’s president of global fixed broadband.
In the specific case of Africa, access to the network is very unequal between locations, with the instability of the electricity supply being one of the main constraints on its expansion. To better frame the solution offered, Airband works through local and regional associations to think holistically about which solutions work best.
To address the challenges associated with providing electricity, Microsoft has partnered with sustainable energy access providers and local network providers.
Apart from the intention of solving, from a technical point of view, the connectivity problems present in remote areas, this initiative will continue later with the extension of educational instances, framed in the program Skills for Jobsto provide training in areas such as cybersecurity and system administration.