Satellite Hopeful Plans Free Internet Access for Africa

Quika, a new satellite Internet connectivity service provider, plans to offer a free Internet access service to millions of users in multiple African countries and, in doing so, help bridge the digital divide.

It also plans to offer a low-cost satellite broadband service to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in those same markets.

"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," states Alan Afrasiab, founder and chairman of Quika and the CEO of Talia Ltd, the satellite operator behind the service.

lan Afrasiab, founder and chairman of Quika, wants to help bridge the digital divide.

Quika plans to launch services in March, initially in Afghanistan and Iraq and then across Africa. Coverage will be based on the satellite footprint of the Al Yah 3 and Arabsat 5C Ka satellites, and is expected to eventually cover Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Libya, Loesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

For more on this story, check out the full story on our sister site, Broadband World News: Quika's Ad-Based Satellite Service Aims to Bring Internet to Africa.

— The staff, Connecting Africa