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Microsoft and Viasat
announce new partnership to deliver internet access
to underserved communities globally
Dec. 14, 2022
Microsoft Corp. and Viasat
announced a new partnership to help deliver internet
access to 10 million people around the globe,
including 5 million across Africa. Viasat, a global
communications company, is the first satellite
partner to work with Microsoft's Airband Initiative,
and together they will deepen Airband's work in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria,
Guatemala, Mexico, and the United States, as well as
prioritize expanding the program to Egypt, Senegal
and Angola to deliver much-needed internet
connection, often for the first time.
This first of its kind global
partnership for Airband is an important step in
reaching the Initiative's expanded goal of
delivering internet access to a quarter of a billion
people across the world, including 100 million
people on the continent of Africa, by the end of
2025.
According to the International
Telecommunication Union at the UN, roughly one third
of the world's population — or 2.7 billion people —
have still never used the internet. Satellite allows
internet access to reach remote areas that
previously have had few, if any, options for
conventional connectivity. Working together, the
companies will combine expertise and assets to help
enable telehealth, distance learning and education,
precision agriculture, clean power, and other
services to reach new areas through the
transformational provision of power and
connectivity. The companies will collaborate to
provide and pilot technologies including, but not
limited to, satellites (both geostationary orbit and
low earth orbit) and fixed wireless.
"We believe access to the
internet is a fundamental right and that digital
skills create and enable economic prosperity for
people, businesses and governments. Through our
Airband Initiative we will extend high-speed
internet access to 100 million people on the
continent of Africa and to a quarter of a billion
people living in unserved and underserved areas
across the world by 2025," said Teresa Hutson,
Microsoft's vice president of Technology and
Corporate Responsibility. "Working with Viasat, we
will use satellite to reach remote areas that
previously have had few, if any, options for
conventional connectivity. Together, we will be able
to rapidly scale and expand Airband's reach,
exploring a wider pipeline of projects and new
countries where we haven't yet worked."
Nearly one third of the world's
population is lacking online access to education,
better medical care, business opportunities,
connection with family and more. And most of this
population lives in just 20 countries across Africa
and the Global South. Universal, affordable internet
access is part of the United Nations' Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs), and by focusing a large
portion of this new partnership on Africa, Microsoft
and Viasat are working to deliver connectivity and
digital literacy for better education, healthcare
and economic opportunity in critical markets.
"We're proud to partner with
Microsoft as it represents another important step in
bringing affordable internet service across Africa,
Latin America and the U.S., as both companies
continue to break down barriers to bridge the
digital divide and make significant progress toward
digital equity and inclusion," said Evan Dixon,
President, Global Fixed Broadband of Viasat.
"Providing internet access to the world is a
challenging and bold goal, and doing so in a
sustainable and responsible manner will unlock
enduring opportunities for those who need it most."
Through Airband, Microsoft and
its partners have already delivered high-speed
internet access to more than 51 million people
globally, including over 4 million in unserved U.S.
rural communities and an additional 47 million in 16
unserved and underserved countries outside the U.S.
Launched in 2017, Microsoft's Airband Initiative
works through partnerships with local and regional
internet and energy access providers, telecom
equipment makers and nonprofits, as well as
governmental and nongovernmental organizations, to
advance access to affordable internet and relevant
digital skills around the world. Microsoft believes
access to the internet is a fundamental right for
everyone.
Viasat is a global
communications company and an innovator in satellite
communications technologies and services, focused on
making connectivity accessible, available and secure
for all. Today, Viasat is connecting unserved and
underserved communities around the world, many for
the first time ever.
This partnership builds upon
the existing relationship between Viasat and
Microsoft Azure Space to deliver advances in
satellite connectivity and furthers Microsoft's
mission to connect anyone, anywhere on the planet.
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