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Microsoft has followed Facebook and Google in taking steps to expand global Internet access in developing countries. It announced on May 24, Tuesday that its Affordable Access Initiative had awarded grants to 12 businesses for providing low-cost web connectivity. The 11 countries represented are located on five continents including Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas.
Businesses that received grants are located in the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, Malawi, Botswana, Uganda, Nigeria, Rwanda, India, Philippines, and Indonesia. They include companies in industries such as Internet, hardware, and renewable energy.
The companies will not just provide financial support. They will also access Microsoft's software and services to develop Internet technology, according to CNET.
The companies will get access to a "global network" of mentors and peers. This will provide them the ability to share the best techniques, a chance to participate in virtual/in-person events, and support from Microsoft's R&D team.
Peggy Johnson is Microsoft's executive vice president of business development. She shared in a press release that half the world's population has no Internet access. Global connectivity requires companies to use creative problem-solving.
The software giant's goal is to create solutions that will affect the world today and in the future. It will use current technology and business entrepreneurs that know their communities' needs.
Microsoft is not the first tech giant taking steps to help get the rest of the world online. Facebook and Google have developed several programs that include balloons, drones, and satellites to beam Internet access to remove areas.
Earlier this year Facebook unveiled two new systems to improve Internet connectivity throughout the world. It was at its F8 conference. The systems included Terragraph for urban areas and Antenna Radio Integration for Efficiency in Spectrum (ARIES) for developing nations, according to Forbes.
Terragraph is a wireless system that brings high-speed Internet to dense cities. The company has already tested the cost-efficient system at its headquarters.
Meanwhile, ARIES is a system that uses multiple transmitters and receivers. This allows it to provide web connectivity to more users over big rural areas.
Facebook's 20-country study shows that over 90 percent of people live within 40 kilometers (25 miles) of a major city. ARIES provides high-speed Internet to remote areas from city centers.
Here's a Project Loon pilot test:
