Consumers in South Africa who fancy a cold beverage will now be able to connect to free Wi-Fi as well, after Coca-Cola installed routers in several of its vending machines.
The scheme, a partnership with British Telecom, sees the soft-drink supplier testing Wi-Fi-enabled vending machines in Qunu, Umtata and Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga. If these locations are successful, it’s likely that more vending machines will be rolled out across the country, technology.iafrica.com reports.
Locations were selected due to their proximity to schools, shopping centres and taxi ranks. Oliver Fortuin, the Managing Director of BT Global Services in sub-Saharan Africa, said: “We are delighted to… be involved in a project that will give under-served communities much improved access to information and education opportunities.
“As well as providing access, we want to help people use technology to apply their creativity and harness the possibilities of today’s connected world.”
David Visser, the Chief Information Officer of Coca-Cola South Africa, added: “We believe that by giving them access to free Wi-Fi we will enable students and school children in the area to increase their knowledge through research while also giving entrepreneurs and small business owners in the community the opportunity to manage some of their business aspects online.”
A purchase isn’t necessary for connection to the Wi-Fi, digitaltrends.com notes.
