Cloudflare announced a new partnership with Giga, a joint initiative of UNICEF and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), dedicated to supporting Governments in connecting every school to the Internet. Now, Giga will use real-time data from Cloudflare’s Speed Test solution to better measure and monitor Internet connectivity at schools around the globe–a critical step in helping governments and nonprofits advocate for and implement better connectivity solutions where they’re needed most.
The global digital divide remains a significant challenge, with an estimated 1.3 billion children lacking home Internet access and nearly 50 percent of students unable to use the Internet daily at school. What’s more, this digital gap reinforces economic and social inequalities, limiting access to education and future employment opportunities for millions of young people. Now, Cloudflare will conduct up to 10 million availability tests per month directly from schools to collect data on Internet speed, latency, and affordability. This will help power Giga’s live open-source platform, Giga Maps, to give governments, the private sector, and civil society groups the data they need to develop strategies and track progress in bringing the Internet to underserved communities.
“Cloudflare’s mission is to help build a better Internet, and that means making the Internet more accessible to everyone,” said Matthew Prince, co-founder and CEO of Cloudflare. “Helping UNICEF’s Giga with additional tools to measure and monitor school connectivity all over the world, means we’re helping to ensure that millions of children can get online and prepare for an increasingly digital world. I’m proud of our work helping play a part in that effort and working to close the digital divide.”
“Connecting schools to the Internet is an essential part of ensuring all children can access digital learning tools and the information they need to thrive. Just as critical is ensuring the best quality and speed of connectivity,” said Thomas Davin, Global Director, UNICEF Office of Innovation. “Cloudflare will ignite even more power in Giga’s data collection and enable the critical decision-making countries need to plan investments in school connectivity with precision. The potential of this partnership is nothing short of exciting.” Giga Maps allows governments to geolocate schools, measure their real-time connectivity status, identify the most effective connectivity solutions and financing strategies, and then provide governments with the actionable insights needed to improve school connectivity. Cloudflare’s global network, with data centres in over 330 cities worldwide, is strategically positioned to minimise latency and provide accurate, real-time assessments globally to support Giga’s mission. This new collaboration with Cloudflare will further enhance their real-time monitoring capabilities and accelerate progress toward their ambitious goal of universal school connectivity.
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