LOCAL NEWS - Western Cape residents used 2 714 terabytes of data from Western Cape Government free public Wi-Fi hotspots in just six months, from April to September this year - an average of 452 terabytes per month.
There are over 1 600 free hotspots around the province at government buildings.
Sixty of these hotspots are located in the George municipal area with 52 in the local George residential areas, 2 in Touwsranten, 5 in Uniondale and 1 in Haarlem.
Calculating the cost of 1 gigabyte of data from a network provider at R50, among the cheapest options available, the monthly provincial use of 452 terabytes equates to R22,6 m worth of data per month provided to residents at no cost.
This was revealed during a briefing by the Department of the Premier to the Standing Committee on Premier and Constitutional Matters.
Interesting facts
- 6 GB of data is available for each device per month.
- Government websites can be accessed without incurring any usage of the monthly allocation per device.
- The average connection time per user fluctuated between 7 and 13 minutes over the last six months.
Thomas Walters, MPP, DA Western Cape Spokesperson on Premier and Constitutional Matters
Thomas Walters, MPP, DA Western Cape Spokesperson on Premier and Constitutional Matters, says the provincial government prioritises expanding access to free internet due to the immense benefits that flow from connecting residents to opportunities.
Walters encourages all our residents to make use of this free internet offering. “Let the government foot the data bill while you access the information you need to move forward - they are happy to do so.”
A full map of the Wi-Fi hotspots can be found here.
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