Some 90,000 people living in four areas of the Western Cape in South Africa will soon be able to connect to free Wi-Fi, thanks to an expansion of a Project Isizwe service.
According to techcentral.co.za, finance, economic development and tourism minister Alan Winde explained that the first part of the rollout will act as a pilot and eventually all residents will have access to either a free or affordable internet connection.
Last November, Project Isizwe rolled out Wi-Fi to five sites in Pretoria, including the University of Pretoria’s Hatfield campus, Church Square and Tshwana North College. Now, the plan is to expand that network to areas such as Atlantis and Robertson, reports iafrica.com. These were chosen mainly because of how many students are situated there. In particular, low-income schools will benefit from the free internet connection.
Project Isizwe CEO, Alan Knott-Craig comments: “The internet is a primary tool of empowerment; it helps people find jobs, learn and become socially included.”
He adds that the internet is as essential as water or electricity and therefore, everyone should have access to it, no matter their situation.
Users are only allowed to use 250MB per device per day. However, the service provides on-network content, such as a jobs portal, which won’t be affected by the data cap.
