• Latest
  • All
  • How To
Louis Otieno, Microsoft

TV Whitespaces Internet Projects serve different needs in different markets

June 28, 2013
Axian Telecom Considers Full Acquisition of Jumia

Axian Telecom Considers Full Acquisition of Jumia

July 2, 2025
Cable TV

Kenya’s Cable TV Market Rebounds with 31.5% Growth

July 2, 2025
Premier League and Microsoft Announce Strategic AI Partnership for Enhanced Fan Engagement

EPL Embraces Microsoft AI, Promising Data Insights and Fantasy Football Assistance

July 2, 2025
SMS

Kenyans Ditch SMS in Favor of WhatsApp and Chat Apps

July 1, 2025
DHgate Tablet Cases deals
DeepSeek_vs_ChatGPT

Hackers Build Malware That Tries to Reprogram AI Security Tools

July 1, 2025
Satellite Internet

Satellite Internet in Kenya Records 9.9% Decline in Users

July 1, 2025
Safaricom Ethiopia Celebrates Big Win with 10 Million Customers

Safaricom Ethiopia Celebrates Big Win with 10 Million Customers

July 1, 2025
Mobile Money

Kenya Hits 45 Million Mobile Money Users With M-Pesa in the Lead

July 1, 2025
tackling Bank Fraud, Sextortion, and Ransomware in Kenya

Kenya Facing Rise in Cyberthreats from Bank Fraud, Sextortion, and Ransomware

July 1, 2025
Kenya cyber threats 2025

Kenya Detects Over 2.5 Billion Cyber Threats in Three Months

June 30, 2025
Which ISP is best in Kenya

Kenya’s Best ISP: Faiba Claims the Crown for Fastest Internet

June 30, 2025
Cars in port awaiting clearing

Relief for Kenyans as Court Blocks KRA Tax Increase for Imported Cars

June 30, 2025
Techweez | Tech News, Reviews, Deals, Tips and How To
  • News
  • Entertainment
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Editorial
No Result
View All Result
Techweez | Tech News, Reviews, Deals, Tips and How To
  • News
  • Entertainment
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Editorial
No Result
View All Result
Techweez | Tech News, Reviews, Deals, Tips and How To
No Result
View All Result

TV Whitespaces Internet Projects serve different needs in different markets

Martin Gicheru by Martin Gicheru
June 28, 2013
in News
Reading Time: 2 mins read
261
1
Louis Otieno, Microsoft

TV White spaces has for some time been a conversation in many countries as the switch to digital TV migration from Analogue Transmission takes shape. What the migration means to many is that they will have to purchase some equipment for them to remain connected when the deadline reaches.

TV stations globally will no-longer use Analogue frequencies to air free to air channels that are usually transmitted terrestrially. To others it means that there are some frequencies that will be made available as the offload of frequency use happens. Digital TV uses a single frequency as opposed to the usual numerous frequencies.

Louis Otieno, Microsoft
Louis Otieno – Director, Microsoft 4Afrika at Microsoft

Mobile Network Operators compete with TV and radio stations for the available frequencies, once Digital migration happens there will be more space to to play from.

Here is where TV White spaces come in.

Available TV White Spaces are being used to deliver Internet access to the far fetched areas that barely have the Internet as an infrastructure, in many places they are on trial. The White Spaces project is on trial in 25 countries, with 17 of them being in Africa.

In Kenya, there are pilot trials in two towns done by Microsoft and partners called the Mawingu Project, the same applies to Tanzania. But the models are different. In Kenya the model is focused on giving internet access to the under-served and they only pay a small fee for administration of power used to run the equipment. This is expected to go a long way in making Internet access a near basic item that is accessible by most.

In Tanzania, the model, though piloted by Microsoft also, it entirely different. It has been set up in areas where there is poor internet infrastructure but people are able to pay if given access. Hence there it’s a service that users subscribe for and pay monthly according to Louis Otieno – Director, Microsoft 4Afrika at Microsoft.

Louis adds that in the US, 15% of the people in the US have access to the internet, but cannot afford to pay for it, for that case White spaces are used to give access to these people. In South Africa, Google has already started trials in White Spaces to serve ten schools in Cape Town. This will enable the institutions access high speed broadband for lower costs. In South Africa, internet costs are higher up compared to what is available for other markets like Kenya, so for this situation White Spaces come to fill the cost and access gap.

Microsoft moved from selling physical copies of their software and have since put more efforts on selling digital downloads that they have more control of. Microsoft Office 2013 is one that is cheaper when purchased on-line with an even cheaper Office 365 which is sold by yearly subscription as opposed to the physical copies model. This allows Microsoft to control the number of installations per copy hence gaining more revenues off subscriptions that also include access to their cloud. Microsoft does need more internet penetration for their subscription products to make sense to most of the emerging markets.

If White Spaces could become mainstream we would see some propositions like SMEs in areas away from metropolitan towns look at cloud solutions and online data backup as something viable. With internet access, even companies can consider investing in more mobile devices since they can work more remotely with smartphones and tablets with as good efficiency as they would in the office at their desks.

Tags: AfricaMicrosoft
SendShare146Tweet92
Martin Gicheru

Martin Gicheru

Martin is the Managing Editor at Techweez, passionate about personal tech and telling stories of consumer experiences. Talk to me: [email protected]

Related Posts

Premier League and Microsoft Announce Strategic AI Partnership for Enhanced Fan Engagement

EPL Embraces Microsoft AI, Promising Data Insights and Fantasy Football Assistance

July 2, 2025
Windows 11 25H2

Microsoft Confirms Windows 11 25H2 As the Next Big Upgrade

June 30, 2025
Windows Blue Screen of Death

Microsoft Is Retiring the Iconic Blue Screen of Death After Nearly 40 Years

June 27, 2025
Microsoft AI for Good Lab tool GIRAFFE

How Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab Is Helping Save Giraffes from Extinction

June 20, 2025
microsoft-xbox-rog-console

Microsoft Unveils Its First Handheld Xbox Gaming Console

June 10, 2025
Sora

Microsoft Brings Sora AI Video Creator to Bing App

June 5, 2025

Latest

Axian Telecom Considers Full Acquisition of Jumia

Axian Telecom Considers Full Acquisition of Jumia

July 2, 2025
Cable TV

Kenya’s Cable TV Market Rebounds with 31.5% Growth

July 2, 2025
Premier League and Microsoft Announce Strategic AI Partnership for Enhanced Fan Engagement

EPL Embraces Microsoft AI, Promising Data Insights and Fantasy Football Assistance

July 2, 2025
SMS

Kenyans Ditch SMS in Favor of WhatsApp and Chat Apps

July 1, 2025
DeepSeek_vs_ChatGPT

Hackers Build Malware That Tries to Reprogram AI Security Tools

July 1, 2025
Satellite Internet

Satellite Internet in Kenya Records 9.9% Decline in Users

July 1, 2025

Best devices

budget smartwatches 2025

Best Budget Smartwatches To Buy in Kenya 2025

February 13, 2025

Best Infinix Smartphones To Buy in Kenya 2024

February 13, 2025

Best Laptops for Battery Life in 2024

August 21, 2024

Best “Battery Warrior” Smartphones To Buy in 2024

August 22, 2024

Axian Telecom Considers Full Acquisition of Jumia

July 2, 2025

Kenya’s Cable TV Market Rebounds with 31.5% Growth

July 2, 2025

Techweez is a fast growing influential source of technology news, reviews and analysis by leading tech geeks in the industry.

Follow Us

Editorials

Abductions and Arrests! Kenyan Government’s Fear and Hate of X Users Makes No Sense

Actors and Film Crews Are Worried About Veo 3 Taking Their Jobs

Samsung QLED TVs Now Officially Certified for Real Quantum Dot Technology

Trump’s Tariffs Will Be the End of Affordable Tech

5 Ways to Prep Your Tech for Resale

The Weaponization of PDFs: How Cybercriminals Are Exploiting a Trusted Format

More News

Safaricom Ethiopia Celebrates Big Win with 10 Million Customers

Kenya Hits 45 Million Mobile Money Users With M-Pesa in the Lead

Kenya Facing Rise in Cyberthreats from Bank Fraud, Sextortion, and Ransomware

Kenya Detects Over 2.5 Billion Cyber Threats in Three Months

Kenya’s Best ISP: Faiba Claims the Crown for Fastest Internet

Relief for Kenyans as Court Blocks KRA Tax Increase for Imported Cars

  • Terms Of Use
  • Techweez Brand
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact Us

© 2024 Techweez - Palahala Media Group may earn a commission when you buy through links on our sites.
A Palahala Media Group Brand. All rights reserved.
.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

Techweez | Tech News, Reviews, Deals, Tips and How To
Crunchy Cookies 🍪 Ahead!

Hey there! Just a heads-up: we're big fans of cookies - both the digital and edible kind! 🍪 We use our cookies and some from third parties to ensure your browsing experience on our site is smooth sailing and secure.

 

But wait, there's more! We also use cookies to gather stats and insights on how you navigate our site. It's like getting a behind-the-scenes peek at your digital adventures!

 

Don't worry, you're in control. You can adjust your cookie settings anytime to suit your preferences. Feeling curious? Dive into our Privacy Policy for all the juicy details. Happy browsing! 🚀

Functional Always active
Listen, this legal stuff is about as exciting as watching paint dry. But it basically says we only use your stuff for what you asked us to do, and nobody else gets to peek!
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
It's those sneaky cookie crumbs websites leave behind to count visitors, like counting ants at a picnic! Totally harmless, just for fun facts. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
Hey there! Just letting you know we use some fancy gizmos to remember your preferences. This way, we can show you ads that are, well, not completely bananas.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
Make cookies
{title} {title} {title}
Techweez | Tech News, Reviews, Deals, Tips and How To
Crunchy Cookies 🍪 Ahead!
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
Listen, this legal stuff is about as exciting as watching paint dry. But it basically says we only use your stuff for what you asked us to do, and nobody else gets to peek!
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
It's those sneaky cookie crumbs websites leave behind to count visitors, like counting ants at a picnic! Totally harmless, just for fun facts. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
Hey there! Just letting you know we use some fancy gizmos to remember your preferences. This way, we can show you ads that are, well, not completely bananas.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
Make cookies
{title} {title} {title}
No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Editorial
  • Automotive
  • Entertainment

© 2024 Techweez - Palahala Media Group may earn a commission when you buy through links on our sites.
A Palahala Media Group Brand. All rights reserved.
.