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Free WiFi for Dr Kenneth Kaunda district

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 18 Feb 2016
Broadband rollout gets under way in the North West, with schools, government departments and police stations to be connected to free Internet.
Broadband rollout gets under way in the North West, with schools, government departments and police stations to be connected to free Internet.

The Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services (DTPS) will tomorrow launch free WiFi hotspots at the Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality, in the North West.

Last year, the municipality announced it had budgeted R10 million to roll out WiFi hotspots across the district. The DTPS says this launch is part of government's plans to provide fast, reliable and secure Internet to all South African citizens.

The launch of the WiFi zones is in preparation for broadband deployment and the implementation of phase one of government's SA Connect initiative, says the department.

This is "one of the ways in which government is implementing the broadband policy known as South Africa Connect", says the DTPS.

The DTPS has been tasked with implementing SA Connect.

According to the telecoms department, the WiFi hotspots are mostly deployed in underserved areas such as townships and settlements.

The free WiFi zones will provide Internet access to the following areas:
* Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality population
* 225 schools
* Taxi ranks
* Spaza shops
* Internet caf'es
* SMMEs
* Government departments
* Community health clinics
* Traffic offices
* Libraries
* Disaster management centres
* Police stations
* Post offices

As part of SA Connect, government has undertaken to connect its offices across the country, starting in the rural areas, to ensure South Africans have access to the most modern communications tools and services, and are able to use them to accelerate socio-economic development.

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