Telecom Lead Africa: Microsoft’s Kenyan mobile broadband project uses TV white spaces to offer low-cost broadband access to rural and other unserved communities.
Microsoft’s project is in association with Kenya government and Indigo Telecom. The pilot project will be offering wireless broadband access to unserved locations near Nanyuki and Kalema, Kenya.
The network utilizes TV white spaces and solar-powered base stations.
This pilot is part of Microsoft’s broader 4Afrika Initiative.
TV white spaces, the unused portions of wireless spectrum in the frequency bands generally used for television, are well-suited for delivering low-cost broadband access to rural and other unserved communities.
Microsoft aims to use this pilot and other similar initiatives to encourage African governments to make the needed legal and regulatory changes that would allow this type of technology to be deployed continent wide.
The project is the first deployment of TV white space technology in Africa targeted at communities without access to broadband or electricity.
The initial installation near Nanyuki includes five customer locations: the Burguret Dispensary (healthcare clinic), Male Primary School, Male Secondary School, Gakawa Secondary School and Laikipia District Community Library. The installation in Kalema will begin with a base station that connects to a government of Kenya agricultural extension office. Fourteen more locations on the network will be added in the coming months. The network will also feature white space radios manufactured by Adaptrum.
Utilizing Window 8 tablets, Windows 8 applications and Microsoft Office 365, Indigo will provide computer labs and instruction to each school and the library and work with community leaders and local companies to identify the most beneficial services and applications for each location, including in the agriculture and education spaces.
Peter Henderson, chairman of Indigo Telecom, an Internet service provider, said: “Beyond simply providing access, we have given the community a real stake in the pilot’s success by creating a cooperative to manage the project, an effort that included hiring and training a local community member to serve as the lab technician.”
Paul Garnett, director in Microsoft’s Technology Policy Group, said: “Kenya is one of the countries leading the way in using this innovative solution, and we hope regulators around the world take note and develop legal frameworks that support broader commercial deployment of TV white space technology in their own jurisdictions.”
