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DTPS commits R40m to WiFi

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 02 Mar 2016
Six metropolitan municipalities will be connected to free WiFi as part of government's ubiquitous broadband project, SA Connect.
Six metropolitan municipalities will be connected to free WiFi as part of government's ubiquitous broadband project, SA Connect.

The telecoms department has kicked off government's national broadband plan, SA Connect, by allocating R40 million to connect six metropolitan municipalities to free WiFi.

The Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services (DTPS) says a total of 230 public WiFi sites will be rolled out in Nelson Mandela Bay, City of Tshwane, City of Johannesburg, City of Cape Town, Ekurhuleni and Mangaung.

Today marks the initial phase of the project in Cape Town, which will see 26 WiFi sites rolled out to connect police stations, libraries and clinics. The department says out of the total allocation, the City of Cape Town has been allocated R4.5 million.

"We believe the move will assist us in realising our goals of universal service access, thereby closing the digital divide," says the DTPS.

The department says some of the municipalities have dedicated resources towards improving productivity, continuously working with the private sector. The City of Tshwane has rolled out 633 WiFi public sites to provide free Internet. Gauteng and Western Cape have expanded fibre networks to connect 150 and 186 government facilities, says the DTPS.

Government has set targets in line with the National Development Plan, to modernise the economy through the provision of ubiquitous broadband access to all South Africans by 2020 at speeds of 10Mbps, scalable to 100Mbps by the year 2030, especially those living in the most rural of areas.

The four strategic pillars of SA Connect are: digital readiness, digital development, digital future, and digital opportunity.

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