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Tshwane's big plans for free WiFi access

Simnikiwe Mzekandaba
By Simnikiwe Mzekandaba, IT in government editor
Johannesburg, 22 Apr 2016
Executive mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa has promised to make free WiFi accessible to more people in Tshwane.
Executive mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa has promised to make free WiFi accessible to more people in Tshwane.

More citizens in the City of Tshwane will be able to connect to free Internet as the city moves to increase its WiFi network.

This is the promise made by the City of Tshwane's executive mayor, Kgosientso Ramokgopa, as he delivered the 2016 State of the Capital Address (SOCA) yesterday.

Since inception in 2013, more than 1.4 million devices have connected to the city's free WiFi service, dubbed Tshwi-Fi, according to Ramokgopa. "Over the next year, the network will double in size and bring free WiFi to more people in Tshwane."

With a network speed of 15Mbps, the City of Tshwane offers Internet users a daily cap of 250MB.

Tim Parle, senior consultant: telecoms sector specialist at BMI-TechKnowledge (BMI-T), says WiFi continues to become the access mechanism of choice, spurred by the proliferation.

Market research data shows that over 50% of phones in use in SA are some form of smartphone, he says.

"Overall, more WiFi coverage and bandwidth are a very positive move as citizen access is a key component of becoming a smart city. The city's plan to integrate other essential and value-added services is a very forward-thinking step," says Parle.

Project leader

Working with non-profit organisation Project Isizwe, the City of Tshwane launched its free WiFi network project in 2013, to create free WiFi hotspots in the city.

Last year, BMI-T named the City of Tshwane as one of the leading metros when it comes to public WiFi access. A bulk of the WiFi hotspots open to the general public can be found in Tshwane.

At last count, the city had around 800 free Internet zones where one could access the service, says Parle. "Their focus is not in the CBD, but more the outlying areas and high population residential areas."

According to BMI-T, the bulk of the public WiFi hotspots open to the general public are Project Isizwe's deployments.

The city previously noted that collaborating with Project Isizwe, it plans to provide free WiFi to all government educational institutions in Tshwane by the end of 2016.

In terms of expanding the network, the executive mayor did not reveal plans of how the size of the network will be doubled over the next year.

Connected citizens

Ramokgopa's plans to increase access to the Internet in the City of Tshwane echo government's plans for broadband access for all.

In terms of its national broadband policy, the SA government aims to deliver widespread broadband access to 90% of the country's population by 2020, and 100% by 2030.

During this year's State of the Province Address (SOPA), Gauteng premier David Makhura reiterated that the province will reach full broadband connectivity ahead of national government's broadband plans.

While Tshwane has connected some 800 free WiFi hotspots, in Johannesburg, there are 408 free WiFi hotspots, and 408 free WiFi hotspots in Ekurhuleni.

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