Business
Kenyan company Ushahidi launches new connectivity device – the BRCK modem
The BRCK modem was designed and built with African conditions in mind.
The BRCK modem – a modem designed specifically for Africa has been been has unveiled by Kenyan tech firm Ushahidi.
Ushahidi, have revealed that the BRCK modem which combines a rugged design with a range of connectivity options, seamlessly switches between WIFI, 3/4G and fixed broadband whenever the user’s preferred network is down.
The BRCK modem also works like a mobile phone, users can also plug in a SIM card to offer a network anywhere in reach of a mobile tower.
The device has an eight-hour battery, and also has a cloud-based software which means it can be accessed from anywhere to determine WIFI, 3/4G network and electricity availability or to manage alerts and applications.
According to Executive Director, Juliana Rotich, who is also a senior TED fellow, explained how her team was often frustrated with making do with hardware that had never been designed to cope with the specific issues faced in Africa.
“While Africa may have joined the digital revolution and mobile connectivity is becoming ubiquitous, Internet connectivity is not always reliable and the price of connecting is high,” she told reporters at the TEDGlobal Conference in Scotland.
“We get online and then there is a power cut and we are plunged into darkness and the Internet connection goes down.” – It led her to ask: “Why do we use technology designed for London and Los Angeles when we live in Nairobi and New Delhi?”
The answer was obvious: “Design your own hardware.”
Ushahidi – initially an open source crowdsource crisis information platform was co-founded by Kenyan entrepreneurs Juliana Rotich and Ory Okolloh, following the post elections crisis in Kenya in 2007/8.
The company’s information model is now in use in many countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa.
The word “Ushahidi” means “testimony” in the KiSwahili language.