Two Communities. One Lifeline. The Work Behind 40 Million
On 17 May, the world marked World Telecommunication and Information Society Day. The theme: Digital Lifelines. For two communities, eight time zones apart, that phrase is not symbolic. It is the dial tone of a doctor's voice. The first message sent from home. A young woman's first online job application.
The gap we are closing
According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), 2.2 billion people remain offline today. That is roughly one in four people on the planet. The number gets cited often. It is harder to sit with what it actually means: students without the references the world considers basic, health workers without reference protocols, entrepreneurs cut off from buyers in the next town, families separated by a video call no one can place.
At unconnected.org, more than 40 million people are now within reach of the internet through our model and the local partners who run it. That number lives across 18 countries in the Americas, Africa, and Asia. It is real, and it is a fraction of what is still ahead.
The infrastructure is not the bottleneck anymore. Starlink reaches most of the planet. The bottleneck is the investment framework that makes the economics work in the places where commercial providers will not go.
That is what changed when the Equinix Foundation came in.
Why the Equinix Foundation partnership matters
The Equinix Foundation backs unconnected.org because the model is built to last beyond the grant cycle. We do not run the last mile. Local partners do. We do not replace operators. We enable them. Communities pay for connectivity, in part or in full. The economics are designed to compound, not to depend on the next round of philanthropy.
The Equinix Foundation's support is what allows us to extend this model from one country to many, and from one community to dozens. Their backing gives us room to bring more partners like the ones in this story into the system. They are also exploring how Equinix's global interconnection infrastructure can be made available to our local operators at discounted rates through the Impact Marketplace, which would extend the reach and resilience of every network in the network.
This is what strategic patient capital looks like in connectivity. It is also what we wish more foundations and corporate sponsors understood: the cheapest dollar in this work is the one that backs an operator who is already on the ground.
Leticia, Colombian Amazon: a city online
Leticia sits at the southern tip of Colombia, where three countries meet in the middle of the Amazon basin. To reach it from Bogotá you take a flight. To reach reliable internet there, until recently, you took your luck.
Today, around 10,000 residents across the Amazon region are within reach of connectivity. Starclick Comunicaciones, our local partner, operates more than 50 free WiFi zones across the city of Leticia and runs last-mile fiber directly to homes. The urban core of Leticia now has 100% fiber-optic coverage. unconnected.org delivers the Starlink connectivity that powers the network through our Starlink connect4GOOD program. Starclick handles the streets, the languages, the trust, and the daily relationship with the community.
That division of work is not a detail. It is the model.
Starclick describes what the network now carries through Leticia and its surrounding Indigenous communities: internet, education, communication, commerce, and opportunity, reaching hundreds of families that until recently sat outside any commercial coverage map.
Kaduna and Abia, Nigeria: hubs that teach as they connect
In northern and southeastern Nigeria, Initiative for Digital Inclusion (IDI) operates Community Connectivity Hubs in communities including Bayan Loco and Kukum-Daji in Kaduna State, and Okporenyi in Abia State. The hubs run on green energy and Starlink connectivity delivered through unconnected.org, which means they stay online when the local grid does not.
What makes these hubs different from a typical WiFi point is what happens once you walk in. IDI delivers free digital literacy training on site. Young people use the hubs to develop digital skills and access online job opportunities. Women and small business owners build digital entrepreneurship skills, improve market access, and strengthen financial inclusion. Beyond skills, the hubs also support online learning, access to government and social services, and remote work for community members who could not access any of it before.
This is the part most connectivity programs miss. A signal without the skills to use it is half a solution. The Nigeria hubs were designed for both, from day one.
Why this model scales
The Colombian Amazon and rural Nigeria share almost nothing. Different continents, different languages, different regulatory contexts, different histories. The fact that the same model works in both is the point.
What replicates is not geography. It is structure:
Local operators who run the last mile and hold community trust. Preferred pricing access through our Impact Marketplace, which lets vetted partners reach affordable connectivity, hardware, and backhaul they could never source alone. Foundation and sponsor investment that closes the gap between commercial pricing and what communities can sustain. A coordinating organisation (us) that handles Starlink supply, regulatory work, and partnership frameworks without competing with the local operator.
The Impact Marketplace is how we turn that structure into something operators can plug into. As a global NGO, we raise and channel funding to subsidise community connectivity projects. Businesses and foundations fund schools, medical centres, farming cooperatives, and other community projects through the platform. Vendors can also offer their products and services for social good in communities the market has bypassed.
The model is active across 18 countries. It is not a pilot. It is a framework that already replicates wherever the local partner, the connectivity, and the investment commitment come together.
What comes next
The 2.2 billion people offline will not come online on their own. The infrastructure exists. The local operators exist, in dozens of countries, with the relationships and the operational capacity to deliver. What is needed now is more partners making the decision the Equinix Foundation made: to back the model, not just the hardware. To invest in the operator, not in a parallel system.
Over the next twelve months we will bring more partners like Starclick and IDI into the network. More schools, more clinics, more community hubs across the countries where we already work. More sponsors connected to specific, trackable projects through the Impact Marketplace.
On this Digital Lifelines week, the theme is not aspirational. In Leticia and in Bayan Loco, the lifeline is already live.
Thank you
To the Equinix Foundation for believing in this model and backing it with the kind of patient, strategic capital that makes scale possible.
To Starclick Comunicaciones in Leticia, to Initiative for Digital Inclusion (IDI) and their teams across Kaduna and Abia State, and to every family, student, teacher, and entrepreneur now connected through these networks: this work is yours.
How to partner with us
If your organisation funds digital inclusion, rural connectivity, or community infrastructure, this is the conversation to start this month. You can sponsor a school. You can sponsor a community. You can become an Impact Marketplace partner. You can refer a local ISP or NGO that wants to bring Starlink connectivity to underserved communities.
Start a conversation → unconnected.org/contact-us
Frequently asked questions
What is unconnected.org?
unconnected.org is a UK charity focused on bridging the digital divide. We deliver solutions such as satellite, fiber and mobile connectivity for lower cost to local partners across 18 countries in the Americas, Africa, and Asia through our Starlink connect4GOOD program, working to make satellite internet access sustainable and affordable for communities that commercial providers have not served. More than 40 million people are now within reach of the internet through our model and our partners.
What is the Equinix Foundation partnership with unconnected.org?
The Equinix Foundation is a strategic partner of unconnected.org. Their support enables us to scale our connectivity model across more countries and communities. The Equinix Foundation is also exploring how Equinix's global interconnection infrastructure can be made available to local operators at discounted rates through our Impact Marketplace.
What is the Starlink connect4GOOD program?
Starlink connect4GOOD is unconnected.org's Starlink connectivity program for social impact. As an authorised Starlink Partner for impact, we deliver Starlink connectivity to local ISPs, NGOs, schools, and community operators around the world through connect4GOOD, making satellite internet accessible for underserved communities.
How does the Leticia connectivity model work?
unconnected.org delivers Starlink connectivity through our connect4GOOD program to Starclick Comunicaciones, our local partner in Leticia. Starclick operates more than 50 free WiFi zones and last-mile fiber across the city, reaching around 10,000 residents in Leticia and the surrounding Amazon region.
How do the Nigeria Community Connectivity Hubs work?
unconnected.org enables low cost Starlink connectivity to Initiative for Digital Inclusion (IDI), which operates Community Connectivity Hubs in communities including Bayan Loco and Kukum-Daji in Kaduna State, and Okporenyi in Abia State. The hubs run on green energy and combine internet access with free digital literacy training, online learning support, access to government and social services, and remote work opportunities.
What is the Impact Marketplace?
The Impact Marketplace is unconnected.org's platform for sponsors and partners. As a global NGO, we raise and channel funding to subsidise community connectivity projects. Businesses and foundations use the Marketplace to fund schools, medical centres, farming cooperatives, and other community projects across 18 countries. Vendors can also offer products and services for social good through the platform.
How many people has unconnected.org connected globally?
More than 40 million people are now within reach of the internet through unconnected.org's model and local partners across 18 countries in the Americas, Africa, and Asia.
What is World Telecommunication and Information Society Day?
World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) is observed every 17 May and is organised by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The 2026 theme is Digital Lifelines, reflecting the role of connectivity in enabling education, healthcare, and economic participation for communities still offline.
How can my organisation partner with unconnected.org?
You can sponsor a school, sponsor a community, or become an Impact Marketplace partner. You can also refer a local ISP or NGO that wants to bring Starlink connectivity to underserved communities. Visit unconnected.org or contact the team through the website.
Can I donate to unconnected.org?
Yes. Every donation helps us bring connectivity to communities the market has bypassed. Your contribution funds Starlink kits, last-mile infrastructure, digital literacy training, and the operational support local partners need to keep networks running. You can donate at https://donorbox.org/general-donations-170?default_interval=o
unconnected.org is a UK registered charity.
