Korea’s KT Corp. has celebrated the first anniversary of GiGA Island, a project to address the digital divide by connecting Moheshkhali, a small island located in the southeast part of the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh, with wireless services.
The company said on Thursday it held a ceremony to mark the progress of the corporate CSV (Creating Shared Value) initiative on the island in the presence of the Bangladesh Ministry of ICT, International Organization for Migration (IOM) and 500 islanders.
Due to geographical limitations and a poor telecommunications environment, the island residents had limited access to web-based public services. But thanks to KT’s project, Moheshkhali residents are now able to communicate with the world through high-speed internet.
IT Space, the island’s community center, equipped with public WiFi, is visited by about 100 residents and tourists each day for wireless internet connection. The center also provides a three-month computer course. KT also enabled a remote education platform for students by providing a video conference solution to 13 elementary schools there.
The company’s outreach program also made its debut in Cambodia, where KT and the country’s Ministry of Post and Telecommunication celebrated the opening of public WiFi on Wednesday. The WiFi zones were installed at two locations in Phnom Penh – the Samdech Hun Sen Garden and the Park in front of Royal Palace.