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Outernet launches first service in Kenya

Kenya , 20 Mar 2015

Outernet launches first service in Kenya

American company, Outernet launched its first digital library in Kenya as it aims to make information accessible, even without the use of the internet.

Outernet uses satellites to beam information to their receivers on earth either through a community receiver named Pillar or a pocket size one named Lantern.

These receivers have the capacity to store high volumes of multimedia content (including video, audio, books and web pages), that can be accessed using the wireless enabled gadget such as the phone or a tablet without the need for an internet connection.

The company installed its first ever Pillar receiver in a school in Kenya.

Outernet founder and chief executive officer Syed Karim said, "The response was completely unexpected. One of Kenya's cabinet ministers showed up and there was more media than we anticipated. The whole event ended up taking the whole day. It was unreal."

Outernet hopes that it will receive its first 100 pillars at the end of March and also announced that they will be launching their own satellites in space by January 2016, in partnership with UK Space Agency and Clyde Space from Scotland.

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