Singapore, 8 April 2024 – Kacific
Broadband Satellites Group and Microsoft are collaborating
to bring high-speed satellite internet access to 750 rural
educational and healthcare institutions with a geographical
coverage of 10 million across the Asia Pacific over the next
two years using high-powered Ka-band beams from the Kacific1
satellite.
The initiative will
connect schools and healthcare centres across Papua New
Guinea, the Philippines, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Cook
Islands, Samoa, and Timor-Leste, which will, in turn,
connect the communities around them.
The project is
part of Microsoft’s Airband
initiative, which brings together internet and energy
providers, government agencies, non-profits and the private
sector to focus on closing the digital divide.
Case
Study: Transformative Impact of the Partnership at Palawan
Baptist Hospital
Palawan Baptist Hospital in the
Philippines, which uses PhilHealth’s electronic claims
system for claims management, serves as a great example of
how this partnership between Kacific and Microsoft has
bridged the digital divide and ultimately transformed lives.
The infirmary previously used signal boosters, pocket Wi-Fi
or prepaid Wi-Fi, but continued to experience unreliable and
unaffordable connectivity. This posed a greater issue as all
claims are processed online. Now, high-speed satellite
internet access at the hospital has not only increased its
efficiency and communication between hospitals, but also
halved the costs for patients, as they no longer need to
travel for hours to contact friends and
family.
Advertisement – scroll to continue reading
“Better internet access and streamlined
communication for hospital transfers go hand in hand,”
says Darren Jay Gacot, Head of Marketing, Communications
& IT at Palawan Baptist Hospital.
Learn more about
Palawan Baptist Hospital Case Study here.
Kacific’s
Corporate Development Director, Beatrice Mok, says, “These
new sites will contribute significantly to expanding
highspeed affordable internet usage in isolated communities.
Kacific has the expertise and ecosystem, having installed
community networks in the Pacific Islands with Guarantco,
and we are confident about working with Microsoft’s Airband
initiative in the countries we serve.”
Kacific’s
approach to bringing high-speed accessible internet
connectivity to developing countries prioritises connecting
education institutions and public health facilities,
aligning with their commitment to ESG goals.
“We
look at the size of the community, its requirements for
connectivity and what it can afford to ensure each site
benefits as many people as possible in a sustainable
manner,” says Beatrice. “The sites for the project have
been selected to ensure minimal overlapping coverage between
the Wi-Fi hotspots (across both schools and clinics) and
maximum population coverage in areas where the need is
identified.”
“We believe access to the internet is
a fundamental right, enabling economic opportunity for
people, businesses, and governments. Our new collaboration
with Kacific utilises satellite technology to connect
communities within the Asia Pacific region that previously
had limited or no access to conventional connectivity,”
said Vickie Robinson, General Manager of Microsoft’s
Airband Initiative. “Strategic alliances, like with
Kacific, play a pivotal role in advancing access to
connectivity and digital equity, particularly in some of the
world’s most critical markets.”
###
About
Kacific
Founded in 2013, Kacific Broadband Satellites
Group is a next-generation satellite operator providing
access to affordable, reliable, high-speed broadband
services across Asia and the Pacific. Kacific uses advanced
Ka-band space and ground communications technologies to
provide innovative services to governments, businesses, and
communities. Today, as the largest Ka-band satellite
operator in Asia-Pacific, Kacific fosters greater internet
usage, fuels economic growth, supports disaster management
and control, and improves the delivery of other critical
services. To reach customers in the most remote areas,
Kacific has actively recruited and trained a network of
distributors and installers, providing support on the ground
and creating local job opportunities.
Kacific1, which
was launched back in 2019, connects underserved areas in 25
countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Kacific2, which is
currently in development, is equipped with advanced beam
management technology and software-defined satellite (SDS)
capabilities, making it fully reconfigurable with flexible
beam allocation and high spectral efficiency. This new
satellite will significantly extend Kacific’s coverage,
addressing new markets comprising up to 1 billion people and
meeting the demand for terabits per second (Tbps) of
connectivity.
Kacific is an award-winning company,
recognised with many awards, including Universal Broadband
Award (Euroconsult’s Excellence in Space-based
Connectivity Awards, 2023), Gold Stevie® Award for
Achievement in Product Innovation with CommsBox
(Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, 2023), Connecting the
Unconnected (Global Telecoms Awards 2022), Outstanding
Satellite Company (PCT Awards, 2022 and 2024), and
Outstanding Innovation Award (PTC Awards,
2024).
Advertisement – scroll to continue reading
