World Mobile, a blockchain-based telecom firm, is deploying tethered aerostats - lighter-than-air balloons - to provide internet and mobile services in Mozambique. This innovative approach, initiated in partnership with Vodacom Mozambique, started its operations in November, with the first successful call made using this technology on December 19. Hovering 300 meters above ground, the aerostat is equipped with telecommunication devices that can connect up to 100,000 users, offering connection speeds similar to high-speed fiber optics.
With a customer base of 60,000 in Africa, World Mobile's CEO, Micky Watkins, highlights the cost-effectiveness and rapid deployment capabilities of this technology, especially beneficial for remote regions. The company collaborates with Vodacom Mozambique, part of the global telecom giant Vodafone, for necessary spectrum and resources. World Mobile has previously conducted tests using unused TV spectrum, Starlink technology, and collaborations like the mesh network project with IOHK in Tanzania.
Their unique business model involves compensating operators of their AirNodes technology in fiat currency, while blockchain node operators and users earn World Mobile Tokens (WMT) through their decentralized physical infrastructure network on the Cardano blockchain.
The company launched its app on Google Play on August 22, making it accessible in countries like the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and Tanzania, including Zanzibar.
Meanwhile, their competitor, Safaricom's M-Pesa, a mobile financial service, expanded its reach by securing a mobile money services license in Ethiopia in May, adding to its presence in nine other African countries.
