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Digital Inclusion

Is universal internet access possible?

We all live in a hyperconnected world, right? Not really.

Most of us find it hard to imagine a time before connectivity. However, as you read this on your laptop or mobile phone, some 3.7 billion people have no access to the internet.

That’s just a little less than half of the world’s population.

Remote village in mountainous area

What's life like in the world's most remote regions?

Think miles of empty roads instead of crowded streets and traffic jams. Imagine night skies with unobstructed views of the stars but not a plane passing by.

Replace the bustle of a city with vast silence and no connection to the outside world. No video calls with friends and family, no social media, and no browser at your fingertips.

Connecting the Galapagos Islands

Vianna Maino, Minister of Telecommunications of Ecuador, discusses the importance of connectivity when it comes to education, health, economy, tourism, and conservation.

Driving Growth Through Education in the Pacific

Minister of Education Mac Mokoroa describes the vital importance of connectivity when it comes to e-education.

Making a difference in Colombia

In Colombia, agricultural communities live in vast rural regions that are sparsely populated and far from the country’s cities.

Connectivity in the Amazonia

Connectivity transforms lives in these regions. It boosts business efficiency, accelerates education, improves healthcare, and connects families.

Better internet. Better future.

The rise of home working and learning makes digital inclusion an urgent matter for the unconnected. A 10% increase in fixed broadband penetration results in 1.38% GDP growth in developing economies (ITU 2016).

Digital healthcare providers can serve remote areas
Governments can provide key online services that ensure quality of life
Farmers can improve output and access weather and price data
Businesses can maximise operational efficiency, promotional opportunities, and profitability
People can use social media and video calling applications to connect to loved ones

The Global Digital Divide

The ability to communicate is a fundamental human right under Article 19 of the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, yet large parts of the world remain unconnected.

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Just 60% of the world’s population can access the internet; about 47% of the population in developing countries, and 19% in the least developed countries
(ITU 2019)

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1 in 3 people around the world have never used the internet. That means that 2.9 billion people are still offline
(ITU 2021)

Government

In 2020, women were 15% less likely than men to use mobile internet, with South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa showing the largest gender gaps
(GSMA 2021)

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Working to bridge the divide

What's the way forward?

Governments are working to meet universal service obligations by funding the expansion of telecom, mobile and internet networks into remote areas.

Telcos, MNOs, and ISPs are increasingly aware of the urgent need for digitalisation in the regions they serve, and must work around the roadblocks to meeting USOs. 

Making USOs Feasible

USOs shouldn’t feel like a tradeoff. We’ve enhanced satellite communications to make digital inclusion a feasible strategy.

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Our ground and space-based technology delivers quality experience and sound business models.

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We offer last-mile technology, such as cellular towers and Wi-Fi hotspots. We optimise for throughput, uptime, latency, and jitter.

Digital Inclusion via SES-17

Our Digital Inclusion service via SES-17 provides a flexible and cost-effective way to deliver high-quality broadband services anywhere in the Americas. Digital Inclusion via SES-17 can help you provide broadband services and satisfy USOs rapidly with minimal capital expenditure reduced risks.

Hosted on our next-generation very high-throughput satellite (VHTS)—SES-17
Tailored services for a wide variety of use cases
Flexible bandwidth pool packages backed by guaranteed service level agreements

Connecting hard-to-reach areas

Digital inclusion, accelerated.

Our unique services take you one step closer to digitalising entire populations.

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A multi-orbit strategy
Our fleets in Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) and Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) ensure optimised coverage to help you reach every opportunity anywhere on Earth.

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Scalability, like never before
Your customers’ demands can change. Our services are designed to scale to multiple gigabits per second, whenever and wherever you need it.

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Managed services
Comprehensive end-to-end managed services enable you to stay focused on expanding your business.

Bridging the digital divide worldwide

How can we help?

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Any questions?

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SES-17 podcast

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Vodafone Cook Islands case study

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