Here in the highly-commercialized, highly-connected West, we are neck deep in the wireless waters, and enthusiastically entangled in a dynamic digital ecosystem.

Hard to imagine that more than half the world is not. Out of some seven billion, nearly 4.5 billion of us still do not have Internet access!

Not surprisingly, then, a mission to connect and empower the digitally disenfranchised has long found favour at the United Nations, and it’s been embraced by U.N. Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon.

Nor should it be surprising that a company in Canada, home to many members of the global Diaspora, would be at the forefront of efforts to expand Internet access to those countries on the other side of the digital divide.

Mississauga, ON-based DataWind has introduced hardware and software based solutions to provide affordable broadband on existing networks, and it has been internationally recognized for doing so.

The company’s Internet Delivery Platform offers a low-cost Internet browsing solution by bundling an affordable tablet device with an inexpensive, pre-paid, 2G Internet service plan.

DataWind says its patented cloud based web delivery technology can effectively leverage existing cellular telephony networks, and deliver affordable Internet to billions of unconnected people around the world.

Its UbiSlate Android 8” tablet is no state-of-the-art powerhouse, but on the other hand, it’s priced around $70. It has multiple communication and connectivity options (Wi-Fi, SIM slots, GPRS, 3G/USB), and other scaled features for personal, entertainment and business uses.

DataWind has a 5” smartphone, as well, the PocketSurfer; again, it is not at the head of its product class, but it is not intended to be: the company specifies just a two megapixel rear- and VGA quality front camera, for example.

But the dual SIM, built-in GSM/EDGE phones are priced around $60, and they are designed for that huge market at the base of the population pyramid, not the few uber-users at the top.

In support of its international expansion efforts and product announcements, DataWind made a big splash recently when it was selected to ‘bring down the hammer’ and open trading at Toronto Stock Exchange.

At the event, company President and CEO Suneet Singh Tuli described his vision to bring the Internet to billions of unconnected people in the developing world, saying. “The Internet impacts nearly every aspect of modern society and serves as a powerful economic stimulator.

“Yet, only a small percentage of individuals in developing countries have access.”

The event marked the company’s recent initial public offering and the $30 million it has raised to help roll-out its patented and proprietary technology across underserved markets.

In India, for example, where more than one 1 billion people are not connected to the Internet, DataWind has just formed distribution partnerships with leading mobile device retail chains.

In the first phase of the roll out, Spice Retail will make DataWind products available in the country’s capital region, New Delhi, and then across its more than 300 stores in highly populated regions of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan; nationally, Spice Retail has more than 1,000 locations.

Here in Canada, DataWind has offices in Mississauga and in Montreal; it has locations in the U.K., the U.S. and of course India (Amritsar and New Delhi).

 

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submitted by Lee Rickwood