PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News:
Afrique Telecom, Eutelsat (Paris:ETL) and Wikimédia France combine skills in large-scale initiative to extend free access to French-language Wikipedia in Sub-Saharan Africa via Wi-Fi hotspots
Free access to Wikipedia
Afrique Telecom is progressively
deploying Internet solutions over Sub-Saharan Africa in combination with
Eutelsat’s satellite capacity. Its “TamTam” service extends access to
the Internet in rural areas using Wi-Fi hotspots for collective access.
In a new step announced today, “TamTam” will be used to offer free
access to French-language Wikipedia content for many thousands of users.
This initiative, starting in French-speaking Africa, supports Wikimédia
France’s strategy to promote free access to educational content, in
particular through Wikipedia.
In order to offer free, unlimited access, Afrique Telecom has developed a server located at “TamTam” hotspots that will locally host French-language Wikipedia content. The content will be updated regularly via a satellite link provided by Eutelsat.
A major pilot project
Afrique Telecom’s ambition is to
roll-out “TamTam” to between 4,000 and 8,000 hotspots in the next two
years. Eutelsat has agreed to finance servers hosted by the first 1,000
hotspots as a springboard that will also measure the impact of the
service.
The Wikimedia movement has made a priority of improving accessibility and content creation on Wikipedia for so-called “Southern” countries. There is still a large gap between Northern and Southern countries in terms of the number of readers and contributors to Wikimedia platforms as well as content on Southern countries. French-speaking Africa is a priority action area for the Wikimédia France Foundation, as a complement to its Afripédia project.
Wikimédia France
Wikimédia France, an association for free
knowledge-sharing, was founded in 2004 to promote and support all
projects hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation in France. Wikimédia France
does not produce or host any Wikimedia Foundation projects, but strives
to enrich them and raise their profile through its members’ support of
its actions.
Afrique Telecom
Founded in 2005, Afrique Telecom (NYSE
Euronext Paris: MLAFT, ISIN code: FR0011233659) is an innovative
telecommunications service operator offering economic models of
satellite-based connectivity solutions that are unique on the market.
The expertise of Afrique Telecom’s development teams is acknowledged in
Africa for their work to reduce the digital divide on the continent.
With more than 4000 stations in operation, Afrique Telecom is one of the
leading players in satellite-based connectivity in Sub-Saharan Africa. www.afrique-telecom.com
About Eutelsat Communications
Established in 1977, Eutelsat
Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL, ISIN code: FR0010221234) is one of
the world's leading and most experienced operators of communications
satellites. The company provides capacity on 38 satellites to clients
that include broadcasters and broadcasting associations, pay-TV
operators, video, data and Internet service providers, enterprises and
government agencies. Eutelsat’s satellites provide ubiquitous coverage
of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Americas,
enabling video, data, broadband and government communications to be
established irrespective of a user’s location. Headquartered in Paris,
with offices and teleports around the globe, Eutelsat represents a
workforce of 1,000 men and women from 37 countries who are experts in
their fields and work with clients to deliver the highest quality of
service.
For more about Eutelsat please visit www.eutelsat.com
www.eutelsat.com – Follow us on Twitter @Eutelsat_SA and Facebook Eutelsat.SA
