NEWS
Facebook celebrates key
milestones for Sub-Saharan
Africa in 2019
Vox launches
high-speed
uncapped
data and voice
satellite plans
I
ntegrated ICT and infrastructure provider,
Vox, has launched highly attractive
uncapped data and voice satellite service
plans at a price point that competes with
LTE-A. As part of its YahClick satellite service,
these plans aim to provide cost-effective
connectivity to under-serviced regions in
South Africa.
“Satellite is still a viable solution in South
Africa, even though an often-forgotten form
of broadband services,” said Jacques Visser,
Head of Wireless at Vox. “Rural communities,
and the agricultural sector specifically, rely
on satellite services where reliable and high
speed fixed or wireless Internet is not always
available. The new plans will provide these
regions and customers with high throughput,
at more affordable pricing that competes
directly with LTE-A prices.”
F
acebook has showcased just some of its
investments across Sub-Saharan Africa
in 2019. Committed to giving people the
power to build community and bring the
world closer together, throughout the year
this translated into significant support and
investments into growing the ecosystem
of developers, entrepreneurs, creatives and
many other communities.
During 2019, Facebook Africa:
• Trained over 7,000 woman-owned
businesses in digital skills across Sub-
Saharan Africa
• Celebrated 79 Community Leadership
Circle meetups with over 2,650
people attending
• Reached its 45th Developer Circle,
with circles now in 17 African
countries and representing more
than 70,000 members
• Hosted the first-ever iD8 Nairobi
Conference with over 400 African
developers and start-ups in attendance
10
INTELLIGENTCIO
• Expanded Third-Party Fact-Checking
across 10 African countries
• Announced the creation of the world’s
most detailed population density
maps of Africa, created by Facebook
AI researchers to help humanitarian
aid and relief agencies
Nunu Ntshingila, Regional Director
Facebook Africa, said: “Africa is
important to Facebook and we’re
committed to investing in its youth,
entrepreneurs, the creative industries
and the tech ecosystem, as well as its
many other communities
The newly launched unlimited plans sees
Ka-band satellite going uncapped for data
and voice with prices that not only benefit
individuals, but also enables businesses to
use satellite for their Software-Defined Wide
Area Network (SD-WAN).
These plans are available in 5Mbps, 10Mbps
and 20Mbps options.
“We want to reward our customers and
with the YahClick satellite service we can
offer improved frequency in regions that
require better service,” added Visser. “We
are excited to launch these plans to our
customers, pushing data pricing down to as
low as R5 per GB.”
“Our 2019 Year in Review highlights
just some of these investments and the
impact we’ve been able to have here in
the region. I’m excited about the future
of Facebook and our family of apps here
in Africa, as well as the potential of this
young, mobile and dynamic continent,
and look forward to creating partnerships
in 2020 and beyond.”
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