Will Stellenbosch’s free WiFi be left behind?

It looks like Stellenbosch’s free WiFi project is being delayed again! The reason that the small town’s WiFi is lagging behind is because elsewhere the projects are just rolling out.

So, it seems that everything is in disarray, with different stakeholders in the project giving different versions of what’s really going on.

The free WiFi project was first announced by Stellenbosch mayor Conrad Sidego, when he said that they will provide free WiFi internet access to everyone in the town. The project actually made headlines for making Stellenbosch South Africa’s first WiFi town.

The thing is, this free WiFi was actually proposed as early as 2013, yet still the roll out has been delayed. Stellenbosch municipal manager Christa Liebenberg said: "The programme is live. The IT manager post was vacant during this period, and the newly-appointed manager is busy developing the service delivery and financial viability model for the further roll out."

In the meantime though, the City of Tshwane has adopted free WiFi and is racing ahead of Stellenbosch – the project is in its fourth phase already! This has demonstrated how popular high speed internet access really is.

In Stellenbosch, Liebenberg said that free WiFi is a municipal priority despite the rollout delay and that it is critical to get it up and running.

The Western Cape government is also rolling out a WiFi programme intended to grant internet acces to mainly poorer communities. Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain are two communities which has benefited from the roll out.

The access of free WiFi is critical as it helps to accelerate economic growth and drives job creation, and these are both very important provincial priorities.

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