Konnect Africa has been operating for over a year in the region, bringing affordable broadband connectivity to unserved or poorly served areas.
Konnect Africa, a subsidiary of Eutelsat Communications, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with educational platform Schoolap and financial messaging network Flash Services to connect several thousand schools across the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to high-speed internet as part of its Schoolap project.
It aims to provide schools with high-speed internet connectivity, giving them access to a digital platform of officially recognised educational content and high-quality teaching materials.
The first stage of the project aims to connect 3,600 private schools over the next 12 months, leveraging Konnect Africa’s satellite capacity and technical expertise, notably in terms of installation.
Each school will subscribe to a “Home Unlimited or plus package, giving it access to the internet. At a later stage, the plan is to roll out the project to tens of thousands of more schools, as part of the government policy of digital inclusion.
Currently operating with limited capacity, Konnect Africa will see its in-orbit resources increase tenfold with the entry into service of the Eutelsat Konnect satellite in Autumn 2020. With a total capacity of 75 Gbps, Eutelsat Konnect will be able to provide speeds of up to 100 Mbps with total or partial coverage of 40 African countries.
Commenting on the project, Konnect Africa CEO Jean-Claude Tshipama, said: “This project highlights the major benefits of satellite internet in bridging the digital divide, as well as the efficiency of the solutions deployed by the Konnect Africa teams. The entry into service of Eutelsat Konnect in the coming months will be a milestone in our ability to better address the strong demand for connectivity from our customers, ranging from individuals to businesses and government agencies.
