cities

Wi-Fi project
Introduction
City-wide broadband initiatives are being implemented throughout the world because a connected city is
assumed to be more competitive and attractive to businesses and residents. A World Bank study (2009) found
that for every 10% increase in mobile penetration, there is a corresponding 1.28% increase in gross domestic
product (GDP) and 0.28% increase in a country’s employment. In many instances, these initiatives involve
partnerships, with the municipality being seen as the enabler, while a private sector contractor delivers the
service (Balancing Act, 2014).
The City of Tshwane has partnered with Project Isizwe to provide free Wi-Fi across the city. Project Isizwe is
a non-profit organisation that believes every South African citizen has a right to access good quality, affordable
internet. Wi-Fi was identified as the most appropriate medium for rolling out access to networks because of
the high number of Wi-Fi compatible devices in South Africa. The objective is for Tshwane to be the e-capital
of excellence and a driver of education in the
country, aligned to the creation of a smart city
and a knowledge economy.
In November 2013, Phase 1 of the project
rolled out free internet zones to Soshanguve,
Hatfield, Church Square, Tshwane North
College and Mamelodi Community Centre.
In July 2014, Phase 2 added an additional
213 schools in Atteridgeville, Soshanguve
and Mamelodi with the capacity for one
million users and Phase 3, which is currently
being implemented, will add a further 400
sites and capacity for a further two million
users (CoT, 2015). The second phase made
Tshwane the largest provider of free Wi-Fi
in the country.
Map: 600 free Wi-Fi sites
Source: Tshwane free Wi-Fi presentation
Overview of flagship programme
In the partnership between the City of Tshwane and Project Isizwe, the city provides grant funding, access to
power supply, high sites, street poles, fibre transmission and other related requirements in order to enable the
service. Project Isizwe provides technical expertise, network solutions and architecture, network design
specification and equipment, network implementation, backhaul and breakout solutions, core network
infrastructure, network monitoring systems and tools, network security systems and tools, 24/7 monitoring
and support, remote management solutions, physical site maintenance and professional and project
management services (Project Isizwe, 2014).
During the first phase of the project, one access point was provided every 14 weeks. Average speeds were
7MBs, and users were able to login on any Wi-Fi enabled device e.g. mobile phones, tablets, computers and
laptops. By Phase 2, one access point was being provided every two days, seven times faster than in Phase 1.
Data is limited to 250MB per device per day, with an average speed of 1Mb/s download and 256kbps upload.
However, unlimited usage is provided for on-net content that does not require a breakout to the internet.
378 State of South African Cities Report 2016