Closing the rural broadband gap

RTO Wireless leverages innovative techniques and technologies, including TV white spaces and automated aerostat super towers, to deliver fixed and mobile broadband services to rural customers on a wholesale and retail basis.

Cal.net, Inc. is leveraging the latest technologies, including TV white spaces, to provide broadband access to over 41,000 rural customers across the western slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

In Eastern Ghana, Bluetown is delivering affordable broadband to over 800,000 people in rural areas. Using technologies like TV white spaces, Bluetown is enabling local businesses and schools to access digital services.

Veriown brings Internet-connect solar energy to areas without access to a power grid. Using technology that provides electricity and internet through a single device, Veriown provides communities with access to online education and commerce.

Using low-cost technologies, Mawingu Networks connects people to the internet for as little as one dollar per month. Lower infrastructure costs make it more affordable for people to access the internet and participate in the digital economy.

“At two and a half years since launch… we feel good about the steady progress we’ve made,” says Shelley McKinley, Head of Technology and Corporate Responsibility at Microsoft.

In rural America, access to high-speed internet is fundamental in an increasingly digital and connected world, and is something many living in urban areas take for granted.

Through partnerships and initiatives, Microsoft is committed to closing the digital divide once and for all by connecting everyone in the world to the internet.

Microsoft is expanding its work with Veterans Affairs to bring broadband access, digital skills training, and telehealth services to Veterans living in rural areas.