Giga, a partnership between the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), is joining forces with the Equinix Foundation to help realize the Giga mission of connecting every school in the world to the internet by 2030.
More than 1.3 billion children have no access to the internet at home and an estimated half of the world’s schools remain offline. Without access to the internet, children miss the chance to learn and flourish in an increasingly digital world.
The three-year agreement between Giga and the Equinix Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Equinix, Inc., the world’s digital infrastructure company®, will help bring internet access to schools in the hardest-to-reach communities, expanding digital learning opportunities for students worldwide, and ensuring no child is left behind. The collaboration helps strengthen Giga’s efforts to map and support school connectivity, including the mapping and monitoring of real-time connectivity status of schools and their connectivity levels on Giga’s open-source map. As part of this collaboration, Giga is also developing a pilot initiative aiming to leverage Equinix’s global infrastructure to enhance the accuracy and reliability of internet quality and latency measurements for schools.
“Connecting every school to the internet is not just about technology, it’s about equity and opportunity,” said Bruce Owen, President, Equinix EMEA and Equinix Foundation. “Imagine a world where every child has the chance to learn and thrive online. This collaboration is about ensuring that every young person has access to the information and choices they deserve to reach their full potential.”
Connecting schools begins with knowing exactly where they are, and pinpointing which ones remain offline. Giga is mapping millions of schools using data collected from governments, private companies, open-data sources, satellite imagery and artificial intelligence models, and monitors the real-time connectivity status of schools to ensure quality of service. Equinix’s unmatched expertise in digital infrastructure and technology enablement will play a key role in advancing Giga’s game-changing initiatives, such as Connectivity Credits and other scalable solutions aimed at bridging the digital divide.
“Both Giga and the Equinix Foundation share a common vision of a digitally inclusive and connected world, where every child has access to all the digital world has to offer,” said Christopher Fabian, Co-lead, Giga. “By combining Giga’s school mapping and connectivity solutions with Equinix’s global expertise, skills, and resources in digital infrastructure, this partnership aims to accelerate progress toward bridging the digital divide and building a more equitable future for all.”
Since its establishment in 2019, Giga and its partners have mapped over 2.1 million schools in over 140 countries and supported increased access to connectivity to more than 14,500 schools, benefiting approximately 7.79 million students.
The Equinix Foundation vision is a more accessible, equitable and interconnected digital future for everyone, everywhere. Fueled by the passion and skills of the Equinix global workforce, and in partnership with an extensive network of customers and partners, the Foundation serves as a catalyst for advancing digital equity in communities around the world.
About Giga
Giga is a partnership between the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) working to connect every school in the world to the internet and every young person to information, opportunity and choice. Established in 2019, Giga’s open-source solutions have boosted connectivity efforts worldwide. Giga offers governments connectivity solutions in school mapping and infrastructure modelling, and technical support in the areas of financing and contracting.