Refugees in Eastern Slovakia to have free access to Wi-Fi

Viasat and the Košice region have joined forces to provide Ukrainians with high-speed internet

Last week, the global communications company Viasat reported that it has teamed up with the Košice region of Slovakia to provide Ukrainian refugees with free wireless internet. With their partnership, the two bodies are working together to install Viasat Community Internet (VCI) sites across Eastern Slovakia, where there is a heavy influx of refugees.

Since the beginning of the war, Slovakia has opened its doors to welcome thousands of Ukrainian individuals and families. According to Viasat, one of the main challenges that refugees face when arriving in the country is staying connected to loved ones and being informed of the situation in Ukraine.

For this reason, the company will offer refugee communities the VCI service, which implements a public wi-fi hotspot that is enabled by a satellite to deliver free internet. With this service, refugees in Eastern Slovakia will be able to stay in touch with their family and friends and follow current events online.

Strengthening the existing support

President of the Košice region, Rastislav Trnka, explained that regional authorities have been at the forefront of helping Ukrainian refugees as Košice is located in the immediate vicinity of the Ukraine-Slovakia border. Taking this further, Trnka gave concrete examples of the support offered by the region, sharing:

“Since the beginning of the conflict, we have been helping people driven from their homes by operating humanitarian warehouses, offering information points at borders and stations, providing free transport and accommodation in emergency facilities for war refugees and coordinating volunteers.

So far, we have provided accommodation across emergency facilities to more than 5,500 residents of Ukraine. We welcome Viasat’s high-speed satellite internet, which allows us to provide refugees with the opportunity to immediately access critical information and communications.”