City’s free wireless internet hotspot connects Woodstock residents
31 May 2016
The City of Cape Town’s Mayoral Committee Member for Corporate Services and Compliance, Councillor Xanthea Limberg, unveiled the City’s latest Wi-Fi hotspot, situated at the Chapel Street Clinic in Woodstock on Monday, 30 May 2016.
A further 30 Wi-Fi zones are planned to go live by June this year, and about 60 more in the following financial year to June 2017.
Broadband infrastructure investment
The City's capital budget for its Broadband Network Roll-out Project is R218 million for the current financial year, of which R33 million has been spent on rolling out a wireless network. Most of this budget has been dedicated to installing fibre-optic cables and switching capacity in a number of areas where there was previously no broadband infrastructure. This approach results in a lasting asset that will benefit residents for years to come.
‘We are able to provide free Wi-Fi at minimal cost to the ratepayer by using our own existing network infrastructure. We have achieved this with a capital budget of only R5 million for each of the last two years, which is much better value for money than the hundreds of millions that some other municipalities have spent by fully outsourcing the service – at the end of which they do not own any of the infrastructure they have paid for.
City partnering with private sector to ensure quality digital service
‘We would like to acknowledge and thank our partners in the private sector who have helped to bring this project to fruition. This public Wi-Fi provision is a prime example of how the private sector, government and the public can make progress possible, together. Digital access for communities can no longer be viewed as a privilege but more as a necessity. The City will therefore continue to honour its commitment to provide free Wi-Fi across communities by operating Wi-Fi zones both inside and outside public buildings, and extending these to public spaces across the city,’ added Councillor Limberg.
The roll-out of the wireless network seeks to bridge the digital divide, in line with the City’s vision to become the most digitally connected city in Africa.
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