Cloudflare has announced a new partnership with Giga, the joint initiative by UNICEF and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), to accelerate Internet connectivity for schools worldwide. Leveraging its Speed Test solution and global network, Cloudflare will provide real-time data on Internet speed, latency, and affordability from schools—critical insights to help governments and nonprofits bridge the digital divide.
The partnership addresses a stark challenge: an estimated 1.3 billion children lack home Internet access, and nearly half of students globally cannot use the Internet daily at school. This digital gap reinforces economic and social inequalities, limiting access to education and job opportunities.
“Helping UNICEF’s Giga measure school connectivity means millions of children can get online and prepare for a digital world.”
– Matthew Prince, CEO, Cloudflare
Cloudflare will conduct up to 10 million availability tests per month, feeding data into Giga Maps, the initiative’s live open-source platform. This will enable governments to geolocate schools, measure real-time connectivity, identify effective solutions, and plan financing strategies with accuracy.
“Cloudflare will ignite even more power in Giga’s data collection, enabling countries to plan investments with precision.”
– Thomas Davin, UNICEF
“Cloudflare’s mission is to help build a better Internet, and that means making it more accessible to everyone,” said Matthew Prince, co-founder and CEO of Cloudflare. “Helping UNICEF’s Giga with tools to monitor school connectivity means millions of children can get online and prepare for an increasingly digital world.”
Thomas Davin, Global Director at UNICEF’s Office of Innovation, added: “Connecting schools to the Internet is essential for digital learning. Cloudflare will ignite even more power in Giga’s data collection, enabling countries to make investment decisions with precision. The potential of this partnership is nothing short of exciting.”
With data centers in more than 330 cities, Cloudflare’s network is positioned to deliver accurate assessments globally. The collaboration marks a major step forward in Giga’s mission to connect every school in the world, laying the groundwork for more inclusive digital education.
