Konnect Africa, the satellite broadband initiative of Eutelsat Communications, says it will provide temporary free broadband connectivity to eight clinics in Mpumalanga, to help them manage the COVID-19 crisis.
According to a Konnect Africa statement, these clinics are located in sites where terrestrial networks are not able to provide appropriate bandwidth.
The statement indicates each site will benefit from 300GB of data monthly for several months, renewable if necessary. The deployment was undertaken by Konnect Africa’s local ECNS-licensed distributor, Logical Wireless, which has been authorised to operate during the lockdown as an essential services provider.
Commenting on the agreement, Jean-Claude Tshipama, CEO of Konnect Africa, says: “This operation demonstrates our ability to respond as quickly as possible to the connectivity needs of institutional and business structures, even in complex times such as these. We want South Africa to benefit from our expertise and the quality of our broadband services in this country by providing free connectivity to rural health and government-based facilities.”
Konnect Africa, which has been operating in SA since 2016, says it has been doing so with the ambition to bring broadband connectivity to all segments of the population, particularly those located in underserved or poorly served areas.
“Konnect Africa will see its in-orbit resources increase tenfold with the entry into service of the Eutelsat Konnect satellite by the end of 2020. With a total capacity of 75Gbps, Eutelsat Konnect will be able to provide speeds of up to 100Mbps to ensure full coverage of the DRC and of 40 other African countries.”
Share