Nakuru County has taken yet another stride in technology after the launch of free by an international organisation. The Outernet project was unveiled by Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiang’i on Monday and will provide basic internet services like news, information, and education to the residents of Bahati Constituency, Nakuru County.
Outernet is a global broadcast data startup hosted by the Media Development Investment Fund (MDIF), a US-based impact investment fund and a non-profit organisation established in 1995. “The project will provide content pertaining to global news and information, international and local news, agricultural information for rural farmers, healthcare information, e-books for learners and researchers and many more appliances,” said the CS.
“The development of ICT continues to have phenomenal impact in virtually every aspect of the human life, affecting organisations as well as nations. As a matter of fact, ICT has been noted as one of the sectors that is a major contributor to Kenya’s GDP,” he said.
Outernet aims to bridge the global information divide through the broadcast of digital files aimed at promoting basic level education and information and reducing overreliance on costly data plans for high-bandwidth digital media consumption. Outernet targets areas with inadequate telecommunication infrastructure, rural parts of Kenya, islands, mountainous regions and open sea.
Speaking during the function, Dr Matiang’i called for cooperation from county governments and other non-governmental stakeholders to make the National ICT Masterplan 2017 dream true. “As the National government we cannot do it alone,” he added. “We need the private sector and the county governments to work with us to deliver. It needs not to be emphasised that the county governments occupy a central position in ensuring that we build a knowledge-based economy as envisioned in Vision 2030 and the National ICT Masterplan 2017.”
This comes a time when the second phase of National Optic Fibre Backbone Infrastructure (NOFBI) is in progress with a target of adding 1,600kms of fibre cable to link all the 47 county headquarters by the end of this year. Outernet uses datacasting technology to relay information. The receivers in turn create wi-fi links, allowing the data to be copied to individual smartphones and other computers.
“The development of a country is now linked to how much it utilises ICT. At the Ministry of ICT, we have a responsibility to bring technology to all regardless of their locality in the country,” said Mr Matiang’i.
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