20 May 2014 Microsoft has scored itself a first in the world of ICT with this news of a partnership between the Micosoft4Afrika initiative, Facebook and Spectralink Wireless to provide low-cost wireless connectivity to students and faculty at 2 universities in Ghana through the use of TV whitespace.
For the uninitiated, TV white spaces are the unused portions of wireless spectrum in the frequency bands generally set aside for television transmissions and they have a broad range of uses including the provision of low-cost connectivity; connecting rural areas to broadband; Improving in-building wireless networks; creating hotspots for Internet access and offloading mobile traffic.
Under the terms of the partnership, wireless networks will be deployed to cover campuses at All Nations University College and Koforidua Polytechnic. Off campus student hostels will also be linked up, ensuring continuous access to fast broadband. Access to the network will be coupled with productivity and communications applications as well as Internet-enabled devices.
Ghana is the tenth country globally to benefit from this technology and has the only TV white space license currently issued in West Africa.
This pilot project is part of Microsoft’s 4Afrika Initiative to help improve the continent’s global competitiveness. A core goal of the 4Afrika Initiative is to facilitate access to technology for the masses and to empower African students, entrepreneurs, developers, and others to become even more active global citizens.