Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Yazmi provides a unique and highly cost-effective learning technology infrastructure for rural, remote, and underprivileged areas in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Yazmi's solution is offered to government education ministries as well as private school operators, and also can be an effective solution for health service, disaster risk reduction, and emergency response applications.

The Yazmi Service is the world's first satellite-to-tablet content delivery system. Combining the Yazmi satellite data multicasting network and satellite-enabled Odyssey™ tablet computers, the Yazmi Service can wirelessly broadcast educational and other approved content to end users at up to broadband speeds. The Yazmi Service is massively scalable and requires no fixed infrastructure for users other than small classroom server PCs that sync, backup and oversee tablet management while students are in class.

Yazmi's satellites cover more than 5 billion people in over 120 countries. Deployment of the Yazmi Service can ensure that all students - regardless of location, school infrastructure, or access to Internet service - are able to receive high-quality educational materials on a regular basis and an advanced tablet computer on which to use them.

The system is meant to support the traditional Instructor-Led Learning environment, and can be particularly beneficial for large class sizes or classes comprised of students in multiple grades. Continuing education for teachers can be delivered via digital modules and complemented by live streaming training sessions. Live or taped lectures by 'master teachers' can be deployed in instances where teachers do not have sufficient knowledge of the subject material, or can dramatically improve a teacher's ability to manage a multi-grade class.

The Odyssey tablet is highly portable, and is intended for use at home and school to maximize the time available for learning. Customized accessories including carry bags, protective shells, cases with integrated keyboards, and solar-powered charging stations are designed to maximize tablet reliability and utility.

Another key benefit of the Yazmi service is ultra-low data fees. A single 128-kbps channel provisioned for a government or corporate customer can transmit up to 40 GB of data each month, including live streaming group training sessions, e-books, apps, cached websites, and preparatory materials. For high volume orders, a satellite service fee is bundled in the cost of the Odyssey tablet - and is a tiny fraction of the per-GB cost of a cellular data service plan.

Governments and corporate customers can rely on the Yazmi Service to ensure that any student or teacher - even those in remote areas, out of school, or without access to electricity or the Internet - can obtain advanced learning tools, official curriculum materials and structured classroom teaching to improve their educational outcomes.