The (not so) World Wide Web

“THE PATH OUT OF POVERTY BEGINS WHEN THE NEXT GENERATION CAN ACCESS QUALITY HEALTHCARE AND A GREAT EDUCATION.”

- The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

*Image courtesy of @daniqueter via unsplash

At SATCOM-BLUE, we maintain a firm belief that open and unrestricted access to information can and WILL help to address the issue of ever-expanding poverty across the globe.

Through the availability of information, we find ways to educate ourselves…and through education we find opportunities to improve our lives AND the world around us. Whether we consider ‘access to education’ as synonymous with access to formal, online schooling or even an ability to watch DIY videos on YouTube; unrestricted access to the internet at large affords all of us ample opportunities to enrich our lives in countless and unexpected ways.

…but not everyone has the luxury of open access to the World Wide Web.

In the developed world, accessing the internet has revolutionized the way individuals and businesses operate. It allows us to interact directly with each other, without the need for physical connection or face-to-face communication.

Over the past year, COVID has proven just how vital that access truly is for all of us to maintain safe distances. The internet has allowed families to see each other despite the need for isolation. It has allowed businesses to keep their employees both safe AND productive by shifting to a work-from-home posture. We’ve even managed to keep our children safe while still attending school through the use of conferencing tools like Zoom, Teams, WebEx, and others. It’s fair to say that access to the internet has actually saved countless lives by reducing our overall need for direct exposure.

With all of this in mind, it is important for each of us to acknowledge just how lucky we are to have those options available.

It should come as no surprise that the pandemic we’ve all experienced through 2019 and into the present has had a disproportionate impact on the developing world. According to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, developing and emerging economies have “less resources to protect themselves against this dual…health and economic crisis.”

In an effort to help, Bluetec has launched a new initiative that we’re calling SATCOM-BLUE.

Our goal with the SATCOM-BLUE project is to explore this problem and to develop a firm understanding of the constraints and barriers that stand between those living in rural and under-developed communities and their ability to freely access the open internet.