South Africa’s third largest telecoms firm, Cell C has entered into an agreement with Facebook and the Saldanha Bay Municipality (SBM) in the Western Cape of South Africa to launch express public access hotspots – part of a plan to roll out Wi-Fi hotspots across the country.
The move is said to be part of an ongoing initiative by Cell C to deploy free WiFi hotspots to marginalised communities, students and anyone in need of free, reliable connectivity.
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The Saldanha Bay Municipality is the second Municipality to make its infrastructure available to the Programme, after The City of Cape Town. “We are currently rolling out to all the technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges in the metro, and looking for new opportunities that are aligned to the Municipal Model,” says Schalk Visser, Cell C’s CTO.
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“We are aiming at an additional 300 Access points in the Metro by the end of December 2020. Alongside that, we’re aiming at having another 100 access points or more with the SBM in the first quarter next year as we expand to other towns in the same Municipality.”
The open access fibre network will enable connectivity for all residents of the Saldanha Bay Municipality, and forms part of a new beginning for the region’s basic utility service delivery and infrastructure development.
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“One of the strategic objectives of Saldanha Bay Municipality is to be an innovative municipality on the cutting edge in respect of the use of technology and best practice,” says Alderman Marius Koen, Executive Mayor of Saldanha Bay. “With local government being the key to the tangible, on‐the‐ground service delivery strategy of the government, one of our nation’s most pressing challenges has become the need to strengthen local government and thereby further empower its citizens.”
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry