A Human Right is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing free basic internet and phone access to developing countries, and to citizens of countries whose government has cut off or restricted internet access. It was discontinued in 2016.

Buy This Satellite

In December 2010 they launched Buy This Satellite, a fundraising effort to purchase the TerreStar-1 communications satellite, after its owner,

TerreStar Corporation TerreStar Corporation (TSTR), formerly Motient Corp. (MNCP - 2000–2007) and ''American Mobile Satellite Corp.'' (AMSC - 1988–2000), was the controlling shareholder of '' TerreStar Networks Inc.'', ''TerreStar National Services, Inc.'' and ''Ter ...

, filed for bankruptcy. The idea to purchase the satellite developed out of a meeting in Berlin of thirty people under the age of thirty, described by A Human Right's founder, Kosta Grammatis, as a "do tank" (as opposed to a

think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

). A Human Right hopes that providing internet access to impoverished regions of the world would help to solve many of their problems, such as shortages of food,

potable water Drinking water or potable water is water that is safe for ingestion, either when drunk directly in liquid form or consumed indirectly through food preparation. It is often (but not always) supplied through taps, in which case it is also calle ...

, and health care. Grammatis believes that, "People are ingenious. If you give people access to information, they can solve their own problems." Internet and phone access to citizens of countries whose government has shut down all communications is another benefit proposed by A Human Right. This was inspired by the 2011 Egyptian protests, where the government shut down internet and phone access to its citizens. The goal of A Human Right is to have a satellite in

geosynchronous orbit A geosynchronous orbit (sometimes abbreviated GSO) is an Earth-centered orbit with an orbital period that matches Earth's rotation on its axis, 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4 seconds (one sidereal day). The synchronization of rotation and orbital ...

over Africa, which would provide free internet access to African nations. A Human Right intends to pay for the operation of the satellite through buying and reselling high-speed

bandwidth Bandwidth commonly refers to: * Bandwidth (signal processing) or ''analog bandwidth'', ''frequency bandwidth'', or ''radio bandwidth'', a measure of the width of a frequency range * Bandwidth (computing), the rate of data transfer, bit rate or thr ...

while providing low-bandwidth internet for free. They are also working on developing an open-source, low-cost modem as part of providing internet access to those who can't currently pay for it.

Move This Cable

SAex (South Atlantic Express) is a proposed

submarine communications cable A submarine communications cable is a cable laid on the seabed between land-based stations to carry telecommunication signals across stretches of ocean and sea. The first submarine communications cables were laid beginning in the 1850s and car ...

that will link South Africa and Angola to Brazil, with onward connectivity to the United States. The cable route, as originally planned, was to narrowly miss the remote island of

Saint Helena Saint Helena (, ) is one of the three constituent parts of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a remote British overseas territory. Saint Helena is a volcanic and tropical island, located in the South Atlantic Ocean, some 1,874 km ...

, a

British Overseas Territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs) or alternatively referred to as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs) are the fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom that, ...

. The project was successful and in mid-2012 the cable's path was changed.

Notes

External links

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Buy This SatelliteTEDxAthens
video of Kosta Grammatis describing A Human Right and Buy This Satellite. {{DEFAULTSORT:Human Right Non-profit organizations based in San Francisco Organizations established in 2010 Information technology charities 2010 establishments in California