Alan Afrasiab, founder and chairman of Quika and CEO of Talia Limited explained; “We believe that left unbalanced, entire communities and regions will be abandoned by technological and economic progress. Quika will help bridge this digital and economic divide.

“3.9 billion people (53% of the world’s population) are still offline. The majority of these people, live in rural areas and are often poor. The main reasons for people not using the internet are inequalities in relation to income and education, as well as the lack of infrastructure, relevant online content and services, plus relatively high costs of access and usage.

“While numerous initiatives have been implemented to bring unconnected communities online, a significant amount of people still remain unconnected. With Quika, we hope to accelerate internet adoption around the world and transform societies for the better.”

Quika Free will be supported by Quika’s commercial activities. The service is available to all individuals and businesses and will launch in Q2 of 2018 across Africa** and the Middle East before rolling out to other developing countries.

Quika uses GEO and LEO constellations to provide high-speed, low latency Ka-band internet using high-throughput satellites. Put simply, by solving the challenges to internet adoption, such as lack of infrastructure and affordability, Quika offers a bright future for those with sub-standard or no access to the internet.

Quika’s mission is to connect the unconnected for free to overcome digital inequality and create a better world to everyone. With so much untapped potential, Quika empowers communities through the transformative educational, economic and social benefits that online connectivity can bring.