Sidmach Technologies Nigeria Limited is targeting part of the wireless spectrum that have been abandoned or left unused by television (TV) broadcasters as they increasingly move to digital transmission.
Already, the company has partnered with Microsoft to conduct tests in select location as a faster and cheaper way to beam the Internet to remote rural areas and roll out Sidmach services to the hinterlands.
Technology giants such as Microsoft and Google are pushing for governments around the world to open up this ‘white space’, hoping that it will boost innovation in Internet delivery, according to Mr. Michael Olajide, the executive director, Finance and Administration at Sidmach, during an interview with Nigeria CommunicationsWeek.
He said that a recent example is a pilot initiative in Abeokuta, Ogun State, carried out by Sidmach in partnership with Microsoft that aims to boost access to the Company’s health and educational solutions by the rural dwellers.
He said that the choice of Abeokuta was as a result of ‘noise interferences’ witnessed in Lagos due to the activities of illegal transmitters on such frequencies.
Mr. Olajide said that the regulatory authorities should urgently address the challenge as means to boost broadband penetration in the country.
He said, “The reason we embarked on the study is that we have a need to make our health management solution available to the rural areas.
We also want to expand our school management solutions to every nooks and crannies of the country. No child should be left out in proper formal education, especially in this digital age.
“Deploying these solutions through cloud technologies will impact many lives. For example, if there is a clinic in the rural area which doesn’t have all the expertise, the health officers can connect to health institutions in Lagos or any city with equipped facility closer to them.