South African Gov't speeds up citizens' connection to Internet

Source: Agencia Informativa Latinamericana Prensa Latina

Pretoria, Apr 6 (Prensa Latina) The South African Government plans to connect 5.5 million homes in rural and municipal areas to the Internet through Wi-Fi access points by the end of 2024.

In this regard, the Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Mondli Gungubele, explained that the initiative seeks to close the digital gap by providing Wi-Fi access to communities and ensuring universal access to the Internet.

This year, we have already connected more than 740,000 homes to the Internet, thanks to the installation of 4,250 Wi-Fi access points, he said.

Speaking at the national forum on Artificial Intelligence, the Minister added that progress has also been made in reducing the cost of data.

Where the flagship program, SA Connect, comes in, villages are connected to the Internet at an affordable rate of five rand (about $0.002) a day for one gigabyte, and as little as 250 rand ($13.00) per month on an unlimited package.

Beyond this investment in infrastructure in the communities at large, there has also been a focus to enabling students in rural schools to be connected to the Internet and equipped with skills to prepare them for the future, something available so far in urban schools.