SMT007 Magazine

SMT007-July2025

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24 SMT007 MAGAZINE I JULY 2025 It can be too easy to take the technology at our fingertips for granted: high-speed internet, cloud-based collaboration, and instant video calls across con- tinents. Yet, for billions of peo- ple, access to these digital tools is a distant dream. As a global community, we must ensure that technology is available to all. Here is how technology is bridg- ing physical, economic, and edu- cational gaps in underserved regions and profoundly reshap- ing lives. From Isolation to Inclusion Underserved regions include rural, impoverished, or geo- graphically isolated areas, where G LO BA L C I T I Z E N S H I P The Global Push for Digital Inclusion by Tom Yang, CEE PCB roads are unreliable, electricity is scarce, and traditional infrastruc- ture is limited or nonexistent. For years, lack of economic oppor- tunity and basic communica- tion and information access iso- lated these communities. Tech- nology, however, is proving to be the great equalizer. For example, Project Loon's Alphabet initiative (Google's parent company) used high-altitude balloons to beam internet access to remote areas in Kenya and Peru. Though the project didn't scale commercially, it set the tone for a fresh wave of innovation aimed at breaking through barriers, literally floating above the constraints of land- based infrastructure. Powering the Powerless Many areas that lack the inter- net also lack stable power. This is where renewable energy has stepped in. Solar-powered microgrids are game changers in Sub-Saharan Africa and parts of South Asia, bringing consis- tent power to villages for the first time. For example, Kenya's M-KOPA offers pay-as-you-go solar systems, enabling families to install panels and pay incre- mentally using mobile money— no bank account or credit his- tory required. These small sys- tems are enough to charge phones, light homes, and power radios or small appliances. For many, this has led to increased

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