Application: Telecom
Location: Kenya
Year: 2019
Product: TriStar MPPTr
Partners include: Mawingu Networks, Microsoft
Half of the world doesn’t have access to the internet, let alone cell service. To address this issue, Microsoft partnered with start-up Mawingu Networks to use TV waves to deliver affordable internet virtually anywhere. Internet cafes and other public hotspots in Kenya help increase communication and opportunity, changing people’s lives. For example, doctors from various clinics are able to hold weekly online meetings with the main hospital rather than traveling for days to meet in person. Such virtual connections have become even more essential during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The internet hotspots are driven by solar-powered main access points, the largest of which can service up to 1,000 people. Morningstar TriStars keep the access points operating reliably to ensure critical systems remain available.