Tech

Australian Telco set to Introduce Internet to Ugandan Communities

Pivotel Group, a leading Australian provider of satellite and mobile technology has today announced plans to partner with humanitarian group Internet for Humanity in establishing communication hardware and internet access to remote communities in Uganda who are in desperate need of the technology for educational, healthcare and agricultural uses.

While we in Australia take our internet connectivity for granted and are fixated on achieving the fastest possible internet speeds through the NBN, or the upcoming 5G network, there are still billions of people around the world without access to something as basic as a computer, let alone the internet.

Pivotel Executive Director Robert Sakker made Pivotel’s commitment to phasing this technology into Ugandan communities clear, saying that “We are committing over $13,000 of hardware and more again in ongoing services in the first phase of our partnership, which continues a ten-year relationship already valued at over $130,000 thanks to our newly acquired satellite data business, Global Marine Networks (GMN),” Mr Sakker said.

The worth of internet access to these communities is immeasurable, especially in places like classrooms. For example, teachers will now be able to teach current and up to date information to children, as Robert Tabula, a former school teacher at the first school in Uganda explained.

“Until now, teachers have been using their own textbooks from five or ten years ago and teaching that outdated information to the students. Now, we are seeing teachers and students using the internet to get up to the minute information and email other schools sharing knowledge and creating a community,”

With only 12% of Uganda’s 41 million population currently having internet access, the partnership has a lot of work to do. But it’s terrific to see an Aussie Telco tackling connectivity problems on a global scale, and offering help to those in need.

Another great example of an Aussie company doing great work.

Lawson Tinmouth

Hey guys, the name’s Lawso, or Tinman as my friends like to call me. I grew up in a fairly small coastal town called Nambucca Heads, which just happens to perched upon one of the finest waterways in the country, the Nambucca River. After I finished High School I headed down south to Sydney where I’m now going into my second year of Law at Macquarie University. Living on campus there is an absolute blast. Trev and I had a chat recently about becoming a writer for EFTM and I naturally jumped at the idea of bagging my first job as a journo. Absolutely loving it so far and I can’t wait to see where it takes me.