Microsoft (MSFT), Viasat Partner to Aid Global Internet Access
Microsoft MSFT recently announced partnership with Viasat VSAT to bring satellite-based Internet connectivity to 10 million people, living in places like Africa and North and Central America.
The Viasat partnership will cover five million people in Egypt, Senegal, Angola, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as another five million people in Guatemala, Mexico, and the United States.
Airband is a collaborative effort across private, public, and nonprofit entities to provide affordable internet access to communities around the world. To date, Microsoft has helped widen connectivity for 50 million people, including more than four million in unserved U.S. rural communities and an additional 47 million in 16 unserved and underserved countries outside the United States, under its Airband initiative.
The company now aims to provide internet access to around 250 million people by the end of 2025, including 100 million of those in Africa.
For the first time, Microsoft is tapping satellite technology for the program , aiming to reach remote areas that have had little connectivity. The companies will combine expertise and assets to help enable telehealth, distance learning and education, precision agriculture, clean power, and other services to reach new areas.
This partnership builds upon the existing relationship between Viasat and Microsoft Azure Space to deliver advances in satellite connectivity and furthers Microsoft's mission to connect anyone, anywhere on the planet.
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Expanded Customer Base to Aid Top Line
The adoption of cloud computing has been further accelerated by the pandemic. Cloud-specific spending is expected to increase significantly in the near term. Per a Markets and Markets report, the global cloud computing market is expected to witness a CAGR of 16.3%, reaching $947.3 billion in 2026. These trends bode well for cloud solution providers such as Microsoft.
European Union cloud customers of the company will be able to process and store parts of their data in the region from Jan 1. The phased rollout of its “EU data boundary” will apply to all of its core cloud services – Azure, Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365 and Power BI platform. Microsoft has previously said it would challenge government requests for customer data, and that it would financially compensate any customer whose data it shared in breach of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) introduced by EU in 2018.
The Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company has been focusing on upgrading and innovating its cloud offerings. Microsoft’s Azure continues to draw customers. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Microsoft partnered with Cisco CSCO through which customers can join Teams meetings from Cisco hardware. Initially, six devices will be certified to work with Teams in the first half of next year, including the Cisco Room Bar (a combined speaker and webcam), the 55-inch and 75-inch versions of the Cisco Board Pro (a freestanding screen designed for video conferencing) and the Cisco Room Kit Pro.
Mercedes-Benz Group MBGAF and Microsoft announced a partnership using Microsoft Cloud for a data platform intended to improve production efficiency at over 30 passenger car plants globally. The aim is to gather data from across the production process, from components to logistics to the assembly line, to create a virtual replica that allows teams to identify potential supply chain bottlenecks more quickly.
These developments are expected to drive the subscriber base, which, in turn, is anticipated to bolster top-line growth in the near term.
Over the past few years, Microsoft has doubled down on its cloud computing opportunity. The latest slew of partnerships is expected to strengthen its competitive position in the cloud computing market.
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