The City of Johannesburg will set up multi-service techno hubs in townships across the municipality as part of its R1 billion Joburg Network Broadband Project (JNBP).
The township of Orange Farm, located south of Johannesburg, has been identified as a location for the first techno hub. While the exact location is yet to be identified, the city says it will most likely be established in one of the township's community centres.
There are already established sites around the city where techno hubs will be set up. These include the youth advisory centres in Randburg, Yeoville and Bellavista. More sites are planned for Ivory Park and Diepsloot, and another site is expected in Alexandra.
The hubs will serve as multi-service digital centres that will house existing and future programmes aimed at helping people develop computer, entrepreneurial and job-seeking skills. Centres are expected to contain WiFi hotspots and have capacity for Internet access.
The proposed infrastructure and core network layout for the JNBP is based on fibre-optic technology and will cover all areas of the city. The citywide network will have a capacity of 1.2TB and will work on an Ethernet, IP-based technology.
Ericsson, which was selected as the service provider for the project, states that initial deployments will be based on any priority sites identified by the city. Bandwidth usage will be monitored and increased according to the city's needs.
Assistant ICT director for the city Vumani Mangali says the techno hubs will help the city increase the penetration of broadband access in under-serviced areas as part of the project.
"These programmes linked to broadband are meant to empower citizens. They will provide access to ICT infrastructure, ICT skills, business advice and job advisory support for disadvantaged communities," he notes.
Mangali adds that the broadband project is key to sustained economic growth. He explains that, while the hubs will be established by the city, partnerships with private companies will be signed to help maintain the centres.
“To ensure the techno hubs are sustainable, corporates and companies will be encouraged to adopt a hub and donate computers and provide training for techno hub staff.”
The city hopes the techno hubs will also help to develop small, medium and micro enterprises in the region.
"In consultation with ward councillors, we would also like to see a situation where youth are able to own their own businesses in the ICT sector in townships. People in the age groups between 40 and 50 can also come for help because they are the ones mostly looking into establishing their own businesses. So we won't be exclusively concentrating on youth - we want to create a kind of vibey environment for youth and small business development," Mangali says.
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