The world as a whole may be advancing at breakneck speed.  But for many of the people living in the remote villages that dot the vast savannahs and jungles that stretch across the African continent, economic progress is at a standstill, all because they are still cut off from the 21st century communications that is fueling today’s global development.

While governments are grabbling with the issue and actively working to expand communications in their countries, the lack of fiber optics to reach rural locations – combined with the inherent problem of fiber breaks in areas where fiber does exist – has until now made communications in isolated, hard-to-reach areas difficult to come by.  

As a result, young people can’t acquire the education or skills they need to drive meaningful change and advancement in their local communities.  Teachers can’t access the educational resources necessary to prepare students to compete in a global economy. And doctors working in remote clinics have no way to tap into the latest medical breakthroughs that can save lives and improve their patients’ quality of life.  What’s more, villagers have no effective way to communicate with loved ones living abroad, whether to stay in touch or to have money sent back to improve their standard of living. 

Until recently, there was no easy solution for connecting remote villages in developing countries with the outside world.  But thanks to advances in satellite communications and video conferencing technology, reliable, cost effective voice, data and video communications can now be facilitated between any individual or group, anywhere in the world – effectively leveling the economic playing field for rural, isolated communities.
Since its inception in 2004, NewCom International, a global communications company specializing in the transport of video, voice and data via satellite, has focused on fostering education, enriching lives, and improving economies by  bringing 21st century communications to developing regions throughout the world. 

By teaming with private contractors and government officials in Colombia, NewCom has been instrumental in bringing high-speed Internet access to more than 1,000 rural schools, hospitals, government offices and businesses scattered throughout the country.

The government-funded communications initiative has given these rural communicates an open window to the world.  Families once cut off from loved ones living far away now have the ability to instantly communicate with them.  Teachers and students at schools located high in the Andes now have a world of educational material at their fingertips.  Farmers can now connect online to learn more about their trade and earn more by producing new crops in the fields.  And doctors at remote medical facilities now have access to telemedicine consultation with medical experts from top hospitals throughout the United States.

It’s a model that NewCom is working to emulate in countries throughout Africa with a packaged approach that combines quality voice, video, and data communications delivered via satellite.

NewCom’s Voice, Video and Data Communications package utilizes an iDirect shared satellite platform and advanced bandwidth optimization software to provide flexible, high-quality bandwidth at the most cost-effective prices available.   Along with high-speed Internet access connected directly to NewCom’s  Internet backbone in the U.S., the package includes a VoIP application for crystal clear, Internet-based voice communications and SatFax, which facilitates secure transmission of faxes in cases of binding medical, education or business documents.   

At the core of the communications package is NewCom’s  VideoMeetings infrastructure, a low-bandwidth video conferencing platform that lets people meet  face to face regardless of where they are in the world.  With VideoMeetings, doctors can perform a patient diagnosis from hundreds or even thousands of miles away.  VideoMeetings allows one or more students to attend interactive virtual classes with trainers or professors, and provides the ability to share and discuss information via a computerized whiteboard that simulates a classroom environment.   VideoMeetings also enables businesses or organizations to collaborate and meet from thousands of miles away.

In the past five years, advances in satellite optimization technology has made satellite communications an effective, affordable solution for governments interested in providing global connectivity to unconnected communities.   And thanks to the advances in video, voice and data communications, the lines and borders even the that once separated urban centers from rural areas have disappeared -- enabling even the most remote regions of the world to participate and benefit from today’s global economy.