Earlier this week, Microsoft announced plans to bring internet access via satellite to 10 million people. Of that half, of them are in Africa, as part of efforts to bridge the digital divide with the developing world.
At a summit with African leaders, the technology company said it would start the satellite project immediately, prioritising bringing the internet to parts of Egypt, Senegal, and Angola for the first time.
Brad Smith, Microsoft president, said that the company had been impressed by its engineers in Nairobi, Kenya, and Lagos, Nigeria.
Smith said, “In Africa, there is no talent shortage, but there is a huge shortage of opportunity.”
In collaboration with satellite provider Viasat, Microsoft said it would also provide internet in Guatemala, Mexico, and more remote parts of the United States and step up efforts in Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Smith explained that the biggest holdup to internet access had been the lack of electricity, which is unreliable for half of Africans.
“When you think about broadband, you cannot have access to the internet at any speed without access to electricity,” he added.
Smith noted that he saw broad support in Africa for internet access, saying many governments have leapfrogged over their Western counterparts in ease of regulation as the continent did not have the same “extraordinary web of licensing regimes” in place from the past.
