Zanzibar leads milestone rollout against digital exclusion
from ALLOYCE KIMBUNGA in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania
DAR-ES-SALAAM – ZANZIBAR is the springboard to the rollout of a global platform combining renewable energy with meshnet and blockchain technology to enhance digital inclusion in Africa.
World Mobile, a new global mobile network built on the sharing economy, is behind the rollout.
After Zanzibar, the company is expanding the service to Kenya and Tanzania in mid-May, then the rest of the continent.
The exercise follows the realisation that the lack of internet connectivity for half the world excludes 3,6 billion people from accessing essential services for human development including online education, banking, and healthcare.
Until now, according to World Mobile, traditional telecoms have not found a sustainable business model to connect all of Africa, hence the company believes its sharing economy is an alternative business model.
Officials said the model allowed the network further reach and would remain more sustainable than any existing traditional telecom.
“Many telecommunication companies are leaving Africans behind because remote places are seen as non-profitable,” said Micky Watkins, the World Mobile Chief Executive Officer.
He said the company’s network would not only connect the unconnected, create digital inclusion and foster economic freedom but it was also profitable, allowing the network to provide coverage for years to come.
“I believe this has been the missing link that big tech companies and mobile network operators have overlooked so far and that is why half the world is still offline,” Watkins said.
Through the exercise, the company said it would make it possible for local entrepreneurs to become network operators, earn rewards and incentivise growth of the network.
Blockchain is a core part of World Mobile’s technology stack.
It is used to create self-governed digital IDs, validate transactions, eliminate middlemen and enable distributed ownership of the infrastructure.
This allows the community to scale the network and disrupt the oligopoly that has so far left half the world offline.
The network’s off-the-shelf nodes is hailed as affordable and easy for operators to set up, empowering them to connect themselves and others while earning World Mobile Tokens.
The network delivers calls, texts, data, and value added services to more than 50 countries so far, while raising the bar for privacy standards worldwide.
So far, World Mobile has built a smart village and powered connection for thousands in Tanzania, including the Kairuki University Hospital, Open University and The Institute for Finance Management.
Zanzibar is an autonomous island region of Tanzania.
– CAJ News
