Solar-powered airship will help Africa bridge digital divide with rest of the world
l The airship is providing Internet coverage to two islands in sub-Saharan Africa.
l The air signal is connected to the ground Wi-Fi to increase the bandwidth speed.
l The system can be extended to other remote communities, helping to bridge the digital divide between high-income and low-income countries.
Could solar-powered airships usher in a new era of enhanced internet connectivity in sub-Saharan Africa?
A pilot is underway on the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba in Tanzania, where two tethered helium-filled balloons enable browser and email access. The airship base station floats 300 meters high and uses 3G and 4G frequencies to provide a signal range of about 70 kilometers (km), which is enough to provide basic internet coverage to most communities on the island.
Blockchain-based telecommunications company World Mobile is partnering with balloon manufacturer Altaeros to test the technology. If successful, the balloons could be rolled out in Tanzania and 12 other countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
Airboats can withstand winds of up to 150 kilometers per hour, stay aloft for about two weeks before reinflating. Other airships will provide coverage during outages to avoid service interruptions.
On the ground, local Wi-Fi nodes enable the network to deliver fast download speeds, providing enough bandwidth for gaming, streaming, and online commerce.
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Internet celebrity
Few of the similar Internet projects that have been attempted to launch in remote areas in the past have achieved commercial success. Google parent Alphabet's Project Loon deployed balloons, and Facebook's Aquila project used solar-powered drones, but both are now out of operation.
However, the system being trialled in Tanzania offers a new approach, replacing high-altitude systems with low-altitude and land-air hybrid modes. It's designed to provide reliable online access to unconnected remote areas and areas with slow, weak or intermittent signal. Internet access is limited in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa due to poor network coverage, high data costs, and limited Internet familiarity. According to the World Bank, only about one-fifth of Tanzania's population has access to the Internet.
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bridging the digital divide
According to the World Economic Forum report Accelerating digital inclusion in the new normal, less than 10% of households in low-income countries are fixed-broadband subscribers, compared with 70% in middle-income countries and nearly 90% in high-income countries. Slow download speeds limit more than half of users in low-income countries, limiting prospects for online commerce and economic development.
But connectivity is only part of the challenge. Poor digital literacy is one of the biggest barriers to Internet access in remote areas of developing countries.
In a recent World Bank survey of more than 20 low- and middle-income countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, it was found that nearly 70 percent of people in these regions do not know what the Internet is or how to use it. This digital skills gap puts SMEs at a huge disadvantage, yet they account for 90% of global businesses and drive half of emerging market GDP.
Using airships to boost internet connectivity could be a crucial step in bridging the digital divide. Efforts to try to bring internet service to remote areas are critical, but must go hand in hand with educational programs that increase digital literacy and ensure affordable internet access for all.
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