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WCape connects more citizens to the Internet

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 08 Feb 2017
The free WiFi hotspots are part of the Western Cape's initiative to bridge the digital divide.
The free WiFi hotspots are part of the Western Cape's initiative to bridge the digital divide.

The Western Cape connects 250 new users daily to its public WiFi network as the service continues to expand, says Alan Winde, minister of economic opportunities in the province.

Last March, the Western Cape government partnered with Neotel to bridge the connectivity divide by providing free WiFi access to citizens in areas such as Nyanga, Cape Town, George, Bellville and Phillipi.

The Western Cape's Neohotspots project is driven by the Department of Economic Development and Tourism, and aims to activate a WiFi zone in every ward across the province by 2018.

The Neohotspots provide residents with 250MB of free data per month, access to a digital literacy course, and all government Web sites, including career opportunity portals.

Users can purchase additional Neotel data vouchers at R5 for 700MB for one day, 2G for R15 to last one week, and 5G for R45 for one month.

Winde explains: "The Western Cape government is working hard to bridge the gap to information and opportunities experienced by its poorest citizens. We believe the Internet is a powerful tool in opening economic opportunities to all, and are striving to ensure all residents have access close to home."

Winde lauds the high rate of new connections per day. "Over 70 000 devices have connected to the WiFi hotspots since March last year. In total, more than 12TB of free and paid data has been utilised on the network since launch.

"To make sure residents get the most out of this initiative, we've also offered a digital literacy course. We have embedded Internet champions in communities to assist with the rollout of this course, with 250 000 residents completing it to date."

According to Winde, data from the project shows residents are accessing educational, employment, transactional and government information.

By the end of phase one in March this year, 150 hotspot sites will be connected. The final phase will be delivered by March 2018, he states.

To view the location of the current WiFi hotspots in the Western Cape, click here.

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