The Western Cape government's free WiFi project has expanded to Atlantis and Robertson, connecting eight schools and reaching thousands of students and adults in the towns.
Project Isizwe, the non-profit organisation (NPO) tasked with connecting the two towns, says the hubs allow users with WiFi-enabled devices to connect for free, without logins or passwords.
Speaking at the launch event in Atlantis today, Western Cape premier Helen Zille encouraged the public to take advantage of the facility and the economic opportunities it presents. "Residents of Atlantis will now have an opportunity to connect to the Internet to access a range of opportunities, including finding jobs, start and expanding businesses, and completing school projects," she said.
Connectivity at Robertson schools will go live on Friday, the NPO said. A fair use policy limits users of the hubs to a data cap of 250MB per device per day and prohibits access to pornographic Web sites.
Project Isizwe added that users would be able to access Tobetsa - the unlimited browsing portal containing government online services, as well as educational and job-searching resources such as WikiPedia, Siyavula and Gumtree.
Private sector input
According to Project Isizwe, Neotel's involvement in connecting Atlantis will see around 6 000 students benefit from the WiFi hubs, while the estimated capacity for the area caters for about 20 000 users.
Meanwhile, Michael Fletcher, sales director at Ruckus Wireless Sub-Saharan Africa, adds his company is among the technology contributors. "As the traditional model of education is evolving, schools and colleges are facing increasing challenges to provide higher-speed, more reliable WiFi to students, teachers and staff.
"New mandates such as digital textbooks and one-to-one initiatives require entire classes to concurrently get online to view material, collaborate on projects and present their work."
He says connectivity has increasingly become an integral part of education around the world.
The following schools and pupils will be reached, according to Project Isizwe:
Robertson:
* Langeberg Secondary School: 1 750 pupils
* Vergesig Primary School: 970 pupils
* Nqubela Secondary School: 750 pupils
* Masakheke Combined School: 453 pupils
Atlantis:
* Saxon Sea Secondary School: 1 380 pupils
* Atlantis Secondary School: 1 700 pupils
* Robinvale High School: 1 163 pupils
* Proteus Technical High School: 1 186 pupils
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