A service that offers free WiFi to visitors to the Company's Garden park and heritage site, in Cape Town, is set to go live today.
The pilot project is a joint venture between the city, the Cape Town Partnership, Iziko Museum, and Connected Space, a private sector WiFi provider.
Mayoral committee member for community services, Belinda Walker, says 100MB of data will be available to smartphone and tablet users each day. The project is a pilot for further rollout of free WiFi to public areas, says Walker.
"The city has a number of major parks, and while you can get WiFi in coffee shops and so on, there are not too many places where you can go and sit in a green space and get connected," she says.
She notes that the project does not only offer Internet connectivity, but also adds value to citizens' experiences by providing a bar code that can be scanned, which will access information and interesting facts about the surrounding flora and buildings. Signage will alert visitors to the WiFi parameters within the gardens.
Walker says providing connectivity to residents all over Cape Town is a top priority for the city. "There is a long way to go [to ensure everyone is connected], but I think this is a step in the right direction."
The city is conducting a feasibility study to investigate whether to make WiFi available in Khayelitsha and Mitchell's Plain. The outcome of the study is expected to be released next month.
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