Quika has launched free satellite internet – targeting consumers in developing countries.

The company is trying to bridge the digital divide. 3.9 billion people or 53 percent of the world’s population are still offline.

People live in rural areas are not using the internet because of 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,” said Alan Afrasiab, founder and chairman of Quika and CEO of Talia.

Quika Free service – targeting all individuals and businesses — will be available in Q2 of 2018 across Africa and the Middle East. Quika will target other developing countries in a phased manner.

Quika uses GEO and LEO constellations to provide high-speed, low latency Ka-band internet using high-throughput satellites.