THE long-awaited rollout of free Wi-Fi in Joburg has faced another setback as the City of Joburg cancelled its contract with CitiConnect Communications.
However, the launch of free Wi-Fi across the city remained on the cards.
The contract was cancelled following multiple breaches by CitiConnect Communications, which was awarded the contract to build, operate and transfer the network to the municipality.
The city council initially contracted the communications company to build broadband capacity throughout the city, providing residents with high-speed internet access and reducing the cost of communication.
“The Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) agreement with the company was designed to ensure the availability of cost-effective broadband connectivity throughout the city to ultimately support socio-economic development, accelerated growth, expanded productivity and enhanced quality of life for all,” said city council spokesperson Nthatisi Modingoane.
Head of the city council’s broadband programme, Zolani Matebese, said Citiconnect had successfully completed the building of the network infrastructure, including the installation of 900km of fibre optic cables.
However, he said, CitiConnect was unable to provide the services needed for the second phase of the project. The city council had given the company ample time to rectify the non-compliance issues but the contractor failed to do so, forcing it to take bold action, he said.
However, the city council’s decision to terminate the contract would not halt the launch of its broadband network. Matebese said the termination of the contract was a minor hiccup, but the city council was committed to seeing the project through.
The city would own and operate the broadband network and planned to establish a municipal-owned entity to manage and commercialise the network, he said.
The council remained committed to rolling-out 1000 Wi-Fi hotspots by the end of 2016.
Thus far, Wi-Fi hotspots had gone live at Orlando Community Hall and nine Rea Vaya stations including Orlando Stadium and Police Station, Soccer City, Noordgesig, Joburg Theatre, Park Station, Art Gallery Station, Carlton Centre and Fashion Square.
Further, all 85 libraries in city were expected to have free internet access by the end of the year.
