Glencore’s community free Wi-Fi reaches 100 million mark!

Glencore Coal embarked on a mission to empower local communities by offering free Wi-Fi in its operation area.

March 7, 2021

Amanda Botha 1 minute read

Ian Troskie Community Manager at Glencore Coal and Shireen Powell Chief Operating Officer of Isizwe.

Glencore Coal embarked on a mission to empower local communities by offering free Wi-Fi in its operation area.

Initially, 10 free Wi-Fi hotspots in Ogies and Phola were set up.

The project’s immediate success prompted Glencore to continue with the rollout and over the next two years, they expanded their offering into both Steve Tshwete and Emakhazeni Municipalities.

Today they are proud to have 30 hotspots where communities can enjoy free Wi-Fi offered by their partner, Project Isizwe.

Since the inception of the Wi-Fi project, they have been monitoring total data usage.

If one considers the high data costs in South Africa, offering free data to rural communities equates to massive saving to our communities.

How much? They are delighted to announce that they have reached the 100 million mark with a total community savings of R102 075 369,00 in data costs.

Some of their notable milestones include the highest number of users in a single day with 8,134 users who used 1,317GB of data on 20 January 2021. The host communities are consuming over 28,000 GB of data for free, each month.

The Wi-Fi project forms part of their commitment to building sustainable communities and empowering the community members in Ogies, Phola, Kwa-Guqa, Kriel, Middelburg and Wonderfontein.

By providing free Wi-Fi, they enable students to increase their knowledge through research and access to e-Learning platforms and provide a connected, stimulating environment for local entrepreneurs and business owners to grow.

Shireen Powell, Chief Operating Officer of Isizwe, said, “We are happy to collaborate with Glencore and provide connectivity to people. Our vision is to connect the entire nation, and it is partners like Glencore, who are the true heroes. They enable us to empower African communities.”

Our focus for 2021 and beyond is to expand our offering. In collaboration with Project Isizwe, they are identifying new opportunities to empower communities further.