Geeks Without Frontiers

Geeks Without Frontiers has developed an open infrastructure initiative called DigOnce! a plan to accelerate the deployment of fiber optic networks. DigOnce! will speed the creation of gigabit villages around the world. 85% of fiber optic cost are related to digging the trenches for laying the fiber optic cabling. The vision of the DigOnce! initiative allows for the installation of empty fiber optic conduits as roads are expanded and built.

Reaching Forcibly Displaced Populations

UNHCR estimates that there are currently 68.5 million Forcibly Displaced People. Other sources estimate that many tens of millions more will be forcibly displaced, including by climate change, over the next 30 years. From political and military conflicts to natural disasters and from slavery to human trafficking, communications hold huge potential to save and restore lives.



Geeks’ HumanityConnect! initiatives are designed to address these needs and comprise:



Refugee Empowerment. Refugee numbers are at an all-time peak and with average time in camps estimated (by UNHCR) at 17.5 years, connectivity for education, health and other critical services is an imperative. Working in partnership with UNHCR, government agencies and connectivity providers, Geeks has initiated on-site analysis of refugee needs and key performance indicators in Syrian refugee camps in Jordan with a view to attempting to develop a model program for refugee camps globally (SDG’s 1-17).

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Human Rights. Promoting and supporting Human Rights is a critical part of meeting the SDG’s. An example of this work is Geeks’ USAID contract to help prevent forced labor in the Thai fishing industry. Geeks is conducting a proof-of-concept demonstration to enable crew to communicate with others onshore, while also providing commercial benefits to the vessel officers and fleet managers. The sustainability model is being developed with a view to its being capable of being deployed by any fishing fleet in the world (SDG’s 1, 3, 8, 12, and 14.)

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Disaster Resilience. A critical part of supporting any community forcibly displaced by disasters is to provide connectivity. Leveraging Geeks’ CEO’s experience in supporting UN disaster resilience and recovery programs, Mr. Hartshorn was appointed to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ‘Disaster Response and Recovery Working Group’ relating to developing a communications resilience and recovery strategy for the U.S. (SDG’s 11 and 13, among others).

CommunityConnect! is designed to bring essential Digital Divide related Internet connectivity, equipment, services and support to the unconnected and under-connected. We provide the leadership, partnerships, and expertise to help deliver these services and also to enable organizations, commercial or otherwise, to catalyze their own initiatives and accelerate exponential change.

Connecting Communities



Geeks is working with public and private-sector partners to empower communities to solve Digital Divide challenges locally and, in particular, to provide Internet connectivity and related services to the unconnected and under-connected.



Examples include:

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Corporations: Geeks has multiple private-sector partners and has been commissioned by a global technology provider to design a playbook for municipalities to provide approaches to working with communities which ensure that when Internet service is made available, it can be readily adopted, leveraged and supported for the key services of education, health, employment, and community engagement. Geeks’ playbooks include best practices and case studies, applications and processes for accelerating broadband uptake, and community “mapping” tools to match opportunities with need.



Tribal Communities: Geeks, together with its tribal partner, MuralNet, is working with First Nation communities and has been commissioned to design a strategic Internet connectivity plan that can be leveraged to help support cost-effective delivery of key services including remote health, education, vocational training, and more. In addition, during the pandemic Geeks and MuralNet have worked with tribes to secure hundreds of thousands of PPE units and are helping to secure spectrum and government funding.



Government Deployments: Geeks is supporting pandemic-response requirements for national and local governments. Geeks’ support includes research and analysis of digital access to support COVID related telehealth, distance learning and remote working for low-to-middle income households as part of a US $1 billion COVID related package. This has included providing monitoring and compliance support for the deployment of more than 250,000 computers and hotspots for low-income households.



Government Advisory: Geeks has provided advisory services to multiple government agencies including regulatory and policy best practice, as well as utilization of effective frameworks to help bridge the Digital Divide and strengthen resilience. For example, Geeks’ CEO Co-Chaired a COVID working group for the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. The group prepared a telecommunications best practices report for all agencies of the administration.



Developing Countries: Collectively, Geeks’ team has decades of experience working with private and public-sector stakeholders in Developing Countries. The initiatives and programs have included every aspect of the communications network life cycle, from strategy and business models to procurement, deployment, and operations. Regulation, policy and efficient management of spectrum resources are also central to the team’s skillsets. Geeks, along with satellite and technology partners, is currently in the early stages of organizing a project in Africa to deliver Internet connectivity and related services to unconnected and under-connected communities

Training and Capacity Building: In collaboration with governments, industry and leading international organizations, Geeks has launched a global program to build capacity and training for communications-based solutions. An example of the program was delivery of a capacity-building effort for the government of Afghanistan. The program helps to harness connectivity, technology and regulation, and combine them with stakeholder resilience strategies focused on disaster preparedness, response and recovery to help protect, save and restore lives and secure Internet connectivity.

For Womenkind Is a Geeks Without Frontiers initiative that focuses on gender equality and women’s empowerment by providing access to connectivity, technology and innovation to give women unprecedented opportunities and education to break trends, boost technology-driven innovative solutions for sustainable development and remove the barriers to the advancement of women and girls.

From chaos comes opportunity and we have a unique opportunity, a window in time, where we can with decisive action implement strategies embracing new technologies to fundamentally improve the lives of every man, woman, and child on the planet. As Abraham Lincoln said, “the best way to predict the future is to create it”. The Technology for a Resilient World (TRW) platform aims to create a new future for resilience and preparedness practices and for the wellbeing of global communities.

Technology for a Resilient World (TRW) is a direct response to these resilience challenges.

TRW’s mission is to reimagine resilience by using exponential technologies to accelerate and promote an increased focus on preparedness and to reposition resilience as an investment in long-term growth in order to create more resilient and better prepared societies.