Microsoft and Viasat to deliver internet access to 5 million people across Africa

Microsoft and Viasat have announced a new partnership to help deliver internet access to 10 million people around the globe, including 5 million across Africa.

The Viasat partnership will cover 5 million people in Egypt, Senegal, Angola, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as another 5 million people in the Americas including; Guatemala, Mexico, and the US, according to the press release from Microsoft.

The move is an important step in reaching Microsoft’s Airband Initiative’s expanded goal of delivering internet access to a quarter of a billion people across the world, including 100 million people on the continent of Africa, by the end of 2025.

With roughly one-third of the world’s population — or 2.7 billion people — that still have never used the internet, the satellite and fixed wireless tech will be used to “reach remote areas that previously have had few, if any, options for conventional connectivity,” according to Teresa Hutson, VP of technology and corporate responsibility at the company.