Cameroon: IHS Unveils Tower Kiosks to Offer Free Internet Access in Rural Areas
To improve connection and digital services, IHS Cameroon has started the “Tower Kiosk” project in the rural Cameroonian settlements of Idenau, Santa, and Tombel in the northwest and southwest. These kiosks will help local companies and entrepreneurs by providing free internet connection.
Along with gathering community health data, they will serve as a digital infrastructure for e-governance, e-commerce, e-health, and e-education initiatives.
Dignitaries from the corresponding regions were present at the inaugural event, along with Dr. Joseph Dion Ngute, the prime minister of Cameroon.
IHS intends to build ten kiosks in total by 2025, dividing them equally between the two regions. The 20-foot kiosks will have computers, printers, and charging outlets and will be powered by adjacent towers. The telecom infrastructure provider will manage the day-to-day operations of the kiosks and has cooperated with both domestic and foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for this effort.
According to IHS Cameroon CEO Olufemi Arosanyin, the initiative’s goal is to engage at least 5,000 community people in order to promote increased community involvement. Arosanyin went on to say that the tower kiosk project will improve people’s access to online information and boost their participation in public life.
“Significant progress has been made in these regions to restore public life, and we are thrilled to witness the commencement of the ‘Tower Kiosk by IHS Cameroon’ initiative,” Prime Minister Ngute said. This program is appropriate given our continued efforts to end this conflict and bring about peace.
The announcement made by IHS Cameroon in October 2023 about the establishment of ICT centers at the Government Bilingual High School (GBHS) Sodiko in Bonaberi, Douala, precedes this development. GBHS Sodiko, which serves more than 2,000 pupils, is an institution for internally displaced people from Cameroon’s conflict-ridden Northwest and Southwest regions.
The aim was to improve digital literacy and mobile connectivity to make education more accessible. IHS Cameroon constructed a new building as part of the project, furnished with 30 PCs, a video conference room, and internet access.
The administration and delivery of shared communication infrastructure services are the responsibilities of the IHS Towers Group. According to data from IHS, it oversees a portfolio of more than 30,000 towers and conducts business in 11 countries spread over three regions.
