LOCAL internet service provider, Zodsat has secured a deal to supply Uganda’s Ministry of Information and Communications Technology and National Guidance with Internet of Things (IoT) services for e-learning in schools.
IoT are the physical objects with sensors, processing ability, software and other technologies that connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet or other communications networks
Zodsat technical director, Brian Mukwedera told The Standard that schools require the internet to function well so it is their role as a license operator to provide those solutions.
“Our services reach out to remote locations and cities where bandwidth is expensive or saturated and the solutions can be deployed enabling access to content in a highly reliable manner.
Basically in the partnership with Uganda’s Ministry of ICT we will distribute and provide access to the content, whether with the MAPs that are deployed in remote areas enabling users to access the content in an Internet-like manner, without the user not actually being on the Internet,” Mukwedera said.
Zodsat CEO Arnold Chimambo said their aim was to accelerate African governments' mandate to provide the internet with a cheaper solution as they are diversifying their services on internet service provision.
“We have always had a dream to provide services beyond our borders as stated in our vision and mission statement (to provide internet services throughout Zimbabwe and Southern Africa) so when we got interest from Uganda we then realised that we are not going to limit ourselves to Southern Africa as we penetrated East Africa,’ he said.
The IoT can also be used in the health and agriculture sectors.
Representatives from Uganda’s Ministry of ICT visited Zimbabwe early this month to see other demonstration sites where Zodsat is operating.
At the current moment Zodsat established a satellite at Chikurubi Primary school site where they are using the VSAT Internet for school use.