Private investors are needed to help bring Internet connectivity to every school on the globe. | Photo: Unicef

Nearly half of the world’s six million schools, most of them in poorer countries, have no Internet connection. This affects over 500 million students. Giga is a programme, initiated by UNICEF and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in 2019, that wants to bridge this digital divide, bringing Internet connectivity to every school on the globe through cable or satellite. This initiative will map school locations by combining government data with machine-learning algorithms that use satellite imagery. It will also assist countries in navigating the complex regulatory frameworks involved, and help them to build the technical capacity for school connectivity. It is operational in 30 countries and has already helped 6,000 schools to get online. But the challenges it faces remain immense. Sierra Leone, for example, has 11,000 schools, but only 200 of them have an Internet connection.

In September 2024, Giga is going to open its own Centre in Geneva, with initial funding from the Swiss and Spanish governments. It will focus on finding new technologies and financing mechanisms for connectivity. In a second centre, already active in Barcelona, these efforts are complemented by developing open-source apps to measure connectivity or estimate the cost of building a network. Giga is not working on apps aimed at the children themselves, because “there is already a vibrant market that is providing this”, according to Alex Wong, co-head of Giga.

At the recent Building Bridges conference in Geneva, Doreen Bogdan Martin, ITU’s Secretary General, said that scaling up the project will need a significant additional financial push. “A minimum of USD 400 billion” will be needed to provide every school with a minimum download speed of 20 megabits per second, she said. Private investors will have to be drawn in for so-called blended finance solutions that can combine public and private funding. Giga also wants to set up a connectivity credits marketplace, where governments can provide subsidies or tax exemptions to Internet service providers.