Google plans new IT solutions to connect more Africans – Official

Mr Taiwo Kola-Ogundale, the Communications and Public Relations Manager of Google West Africa, on Thursday said Google was working on new solutions to connect more Africans to the internet.

Kola-Ogundale said that the project would be perfected in collaboration with some partners, in an interview with our reporter in Abuja.

Google is a U.S.-based multinational technology company that specialises in internet-related services and products, including online advertising technologies, search engine, software and hardware.

“Google recognises the fact that connectivity to the internet has been a challenge to the increasing population of Nigeria and Africa in general and Google Station cannot solve it alone.

“Google Station alone cannot solve the problem of connecting the major population of Nigeria and Africa to the internet.

“No single technology or company can tackle the variety of connectivity challenges in Africa alone. Access is a major challenge for many living in countries like Nigeria.

“For the many Nigerians and over four billion people who are offline around the world, because they cannot afford the solutions or they have poor connections, so we have to invest in a wide range of new technologies.

“We have the Google Station to Project Link in Uganda and through access-related projects like Google Station; our aim is to help more people get a reliable and consistent web experience during their daily routines.

“Our plan is to keep working on new solutions with partners who will work with us to enable as many people as possible to get online,” he said.

Kola-Ogundale recalled that in July, Google announced its plans to launch 200 Google Station sites in five major cities across Nigeria by the end of 2019 to provide free Wi-Fi to millions of people.

According to him, the cities are Lagos, Abuja, Port-Harcourt, Kaduna and Ibadan.

He said that the organisation was working with more Internet Service Providers to explore possible opportunities in extending the range within the country.

It was reported that Google launched free Wi-Fi hotspots in July, 2018, in Lagos as part of its efforts to increase internet access in Nigeria and Africa in general.