The City of Ekurhuleni has recorded a monthly average growth of 21 965 users connecting via Wi-Fi at 338 sites throughout the metro since the launch last year.
There’s now a total of 748 596 Wi-Fi users from townships, suburbs, farms and informal settlements, who are using free Wi-Fi.
“R2-billion has been invested towards the Digital City programme which has a number of projects, including connectivity infrastructure, roll-out of fibre, computing and applications. The roll-out will ensure that the wireless grid is expanded to previously disadvantaged areas and that the connection is stable, maintained and monitored on a daily basis,” said Mr Themba Gadebe, the spokesperson for Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM).
Over 1 507 hotspots, including 43 libraries and 317 municipal offices, have been activated with free Wi-Fi.
“Residents who visit EMM buildings enjoy a daily 250 megabyte limit of free Wi-Fi per registered device, within a 200 metre radius of the hotspots,” said Mr Gadebe.
“The roll-out of free Wi-Fi will be completed in 2017 and the City of Ekurhuleni will soon launch a portal to provide users with important information about the metro, including jobs and educational opportunities,” he said