Konnect Africa to supply free broadband connectivity to clinics

21st May 2020 By: Natasha Odendaal - Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

Satellite operator Eutelsat Communications subsidiary Konnect Africa plans to provide temporary free broadband connectivity to eight clinics in Mpumalanga.

The clinics, which do not have access to terrestrial networks with appropriate broadband, will each receive 300 GB of data monthly over the next few months.

Konnect Africa’s local electronic communication network services-licensed distributor Logical Wireless deployed the network.

“This operation demonstrates our ability to respond as quickly as possible to the connectivity needs of institutional and business structures, even in complex times such as these,” said Konnect Africa CEO Jean-Claude Tshipama.

“We want South Africa to benefit from our expertise and the quality of our broadband services in this country by providing free connectivity to rural health and government-based facilities.”

Konnect Africa, which has been operating in South Africa since 2016, will see its in-orbit resources increase tenfold with the entry into service of the Eutelsat Konnect satellite by the end of 2020.

With a total capacity of 75 Gb/s, it will be able to provide speeds of up to 100 Mb/s to ensure full coverage of the Democratic Republic of Congo and of 40 other African countries.