It began with a question: Do you know how many schools there are?
Our Story
Giga’s Origin: Born from a question to map every school on Earth
In 2018, Sharad Sapra from UNICEF’s Innovation Centre posed this question to his colleague Christopher Fabian. There was no answer. From that absence, Giga was born.
A year later, at the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development, UNICEF and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) launched Giga — a partnership to connect every school on the planet to the internet.
The idea quickly drew support from visionaries. Greg Wyler, founder of OneWeb and a pioneer in satellite internet, encouraged the team to imagine a live dashboard that could track school connectivity in real time — the concept that became Giga Meter. At the same time, Doreen Bogdan-Martin, then Director of ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau and now ITU Secretary-General, recognized the potential for a partnership that combined UNICEF’s reach with ITU’s technical and policy expertise.
From the start, the collaboration united two strengths.
ITU focuses on telecommunications policy and regulation.
UNICEF brings country presence, expertise in education and procurement, and a mission to ensure every child benefits from the digital world.
Giga’s first task was visibility. How many schools exist, and which are online? Its early tool, Project Connect, used satellite imagery and government data to locate schools.
Today it has evolved into Giga Maps, showing more than 2.2 million schools across 140 countries.
Mapping was only the beginning. Giga helps governments analyse infrastructure, costs and policy to find the most effective ways to connect schools. It provides data, financing models and procurement tools to make access sustainable and affordable.
This process — mapping, modelling, financing and contracting — defines Giga’s roadmap to 2030: connecting every school, and through them, every child to information, opportunity and choice.
Today, Giga is co-led by Christopher Fabian (UNICEF) and Alex Wong (ITU), continuing the work first imagined in that simple, unanswered question.
Strong Support from Governments and Cities
Giga benefits from the strong support of Governments of Switzerland and Spain, the Regional Government of Catalonia, and the City of Barcelona.
Giga’s work starts with data. By combining satellite imagery, government records and network information, Giga helps countries see where schools are and how well they are connected.
This visibility allows governments to plan smarter. Giga analyses infrastructure around each school — from fibre routes to cell towers — and studies the policies, costs and regulations that shape national connectivity. Using this evidence, it identifies the most effective and affordable options to bring schools online.
Once the infrastructure and cost models are clear, Giga supports governments with practical tools for financing and contracting sustainable internet services.
Capacity development is central to this process. Giga helps partners build the skills and systems needed to plan, procure and monitor connectivity at scale.
From its Connectivity Centre in Geneva and Tech Centre in Barcelona, Giga works alongside governments, regulators and industry to accelerate progress toward one shared goal: connecting every school by 2030.
This visibility allows governments to plan smarter. Giga analyses infrastructure around each school — from fibre routes to cell towers — and studies the policies, costs and regulations that shape national connectivity. Using this evidence, it identifies the most effective and affordable options to bring schools online.
Once the infrastructure and cost models are clear, Giga supports governments with practical tools for financing and contracting sustainable internet services.
Capacity development is central to this process. Giga helps partners build the skills and systems needed to plan, procure and monitor connectivity at scale.
From its Connectivity Centre in Geneva and Tech Centre in Barcelona, Giga works alongside governments, regulators and industry to accelerate progress toward one shared goal: connecting every school by 2030.
Our path to 2030
We support governments and other stakeholders in the quest to connect every school to the internet, and every child and young person to information, opportunity and choice by 2030.
Our journey is shaped by our roadmap, or “theory of change,” which guides us through the four main pillars of our work: geolocation mapping of schools, infrastructure mapping and modeling, leveraging finance and procurement support.
Our impact
Read more on how Giga is impacting lives and collaborating for action, across the globe, in its quest to connect every school
Let’s build a connected future together
Learn more about how you can get involved today.
