Last week we wrote about Loon’s commercial launch in Kenya and how its balloons are bringing much-needed broadband connectivity to rural areas. And previously we covered what Telecom26 is up to Zimbabwe.  

… Enabling real-time diagnostic data using IoT technology can help control the spread of TB, HIV, and COVID-19…

After nine years of R&D and testing, Google’s sister firm Loon this week announced that a fleet of balloons is now providing broadband services in Kenya. According to this post by Alastair Westgarth, Loon’s CEO, “this is a first in many ways: the first non-emergency use of Loon to provide connectivity on a large-scale basis, the first application of balloon-powered internet in Africa, and the first of what will be many commercial deployments around the world”.

The Internet of Food & Farm 2020 project is important. So much so that the European Commission has contributed EUR 30 million. 

Telecom26 can provide connectivity across the whole of Africa and our team is working on some very interesting and innovative projects there. This week we’ll take a look at what’s happening on the ground in Zimbabwe.

Earlier in the month, we discussed two African whys:

• why 5G won’t be coming to Africa any time soon and

• why many of our customers on the ground in rural Africa are more interested in our 2G and IoT capabilities than discussing distant future migration to 4 or even 5G.

However, as an innovative and fast-growing global operator, of course we are preparing our portfolio to meet demand for 5G from a variety of sectors.