Kiosks that generate enough energy to operate a cellular router and recharge 220 mobile phones per day are getting a machine to machine (M2M) boost.

Digital security firm Gemalto has announced plans to provide machine to machine (M2M) connectivity to SOLARKIOSK in a bid to electrify Africa’s rural areas.

A SOLARKIOSK is a compact, solar powered station transported onboard a mobile vehicle. A SOLARKIOSK can charge up to 80 mobile phones at the same time.

“One of the biggest challenges for M2M communication is to properly function in extreme environments such as the intense heat of an African desert or the tremendous moisture of a South American rainforest,” said Michael Gartz, director sales and marketing for INSYS icom.

“INSYS icom and Gemalto heavy duty technologies are ideally suited for those areas which are not connected to an electricity grid, such as rural and remote areas in developing countries and districts affected by disasters. An estimated 1.5 billion people worldwide live in such regions, with 600 million in Africa alone and SOLARKIOSK will be there to serve them,” said Gartz.

Thomas Steffen, M2M regional manager at Gemalto added, "In many parts of the world, traditional power infrastructures are difficult to set up and quickly become expensive to maintain."

“With SOLARKIOSK, we aspire to play a social role in meeting such Machine-for-Human challenges, whatever the geographical constraints,” said Steffen.

Projects deploying SOLARKIOSK are already operational in Ethiopia, Botswana and Kenya, supplying both power and access to information to local communities, a press statement from the company reads.