Broadband to be delivered in Kenya with the help of solar cells (via Microsoft - read more here, see how to help)
Many of us enjoy using our mobile devices, PCs and laptops using high-speed Wi-Fi connections, which can be found almost everywhere. We take those connections for granted until there’s a disruption in the service and can no longer use them but imagine never having those connections to begin with. Believe it or not there are still some countries in the world that don’t have a broadband infrastructure outside of major cities which makes it difficult (if not impossible) for those in rural areas to communicate, research information, get news, and heaven forbid, play online games. Microsoft recently announced that it plans on delivering broadband coverage to those areas starting in the outlying areas of Nanyuki and Kalema in Kenya where even electricity is non-existent. The software giant recently announced their partnership with Kenya’s telecom firm Indigo (through the Ministry of Information and Communications) to bring low-cost solar-powered broadband using ‘TV white spaces’ as part of Microsoft’s 4Afrika Initiative.
White spaces networking (WhiteFi) is a relatively new technology that utilizes the unused portions of three key areas (spatial variation, temporal variation and fragmentation) of the UHF spectrum for Wi-Fi using a frequency variation of 400 to 800MHz. These frequencies are able to pass through solid objects such as walls and travel longer distances than conventional Wi-Fi, which means the number of base-stations, is reduced while the coverage area increases. Using the internet only requires a traditional TV antenna that can connect to a smartphone or tablet to get online, which would greatly benefit places such as healthcare clinics, and schools where information can be crucial to the populace’s well-being. So far Microsoft and Indigo have installed 2 solar-powered WhiteFi base stations for the aforementioned villages with initial broadband access for the Burguret Dispensary (hospital), 2 schools and the Laikipia District Community Library in Nanyuki and the other base-station supporting an agriculture extension office in Kalema with 14 more locations to be added in the coming months. Microsoft has already donated several Windows 8 smartphones and tablets to those areas and plans to partner with Hauwei Technologies (Chinese Telecom Company) to bring even more Windows 8 mobile devices to Kenya’s rural area in the near future. It’s Microsoft’s goal to eventually bring WhiteFi to other broadband deficient areas in Africa including Angola, Egypt, the Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Morocco and South Africa by 2016.
C
See more news at: