https://www.engineeringnews.co.za

Community-centric approach will enhance uptake of Wi-Fi

MICHAEL FLETCHER
Real-time information available to government when citizens use publicly funded Wi-Fi networks will enable it to communicate with citizens and provide services

MICHAEL FLETCHER Real-time information available to government when citizens use publicly funded Wi-Fi networks will enable it to communicate with citizens and provide services

19th September 2014

By: Schalk Burger

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

  

Font size: - +

To ensure uptake and a positive impact, Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) networks in cities must be provided at schools, community centres and commercial centres to enable citizens and government to access information that will improve access to and delivery of services.

This community-centric model of rolling out Wi-Fi networks in cities is important to ensure that services are available and used by citizens and local private businesses. This, in turn, will generate data that government can use to determine policy and interact with citizens, says Wi-Fi specialists Ruckus Wireless sub-Saharan Africa sales director Michael Fletcher.

The real-time information available to government when citizens use publicly funded Wi-Fi networks will enable it to respond quickly to concerns raised by citizens and manage public events, as well as analyse data to determine the effectiveness of policies and identify areas of underperformance.

Further, free Wi-Fi projects – such as Project Isizwe, a national initiative that aims to provide citizens with 250 MB of data free of charge – will enable citizens to interact more easily with a city’s government and access information on jobs and educational materials.

While Wi-Fi cannot cover all population centres, owing to range constraints, the fact that it is unregulated means that more connection points can be added to extend coverage or increase the bandwidth available at a hot spot to enable communication such as during large-scale events.

Ruckus’ experience of working in countries, such as Rwanda, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Tanzania, indicate a high rate of entrepreneurship stemming from such community-centric Wi-Fi networks, as local businesses and entrepreneurs leverage the connectivity to offer services or products.

Further, Fletcher says Wi-Fi networks are often quickly monetised, as private businesses can, for example, offer the city’s free Wi-Fi on their premises. This, in turn, will boost customer numbers and enable businesses to advertise their services or products to Wi-Fi users on their premises, reducing the costs to the city.

Ruckus has found that Wi-Fi networks also lead to technical entrepreneurship and have found that small businesses build antennas to extend the coverage of the free networks to their premises and, thus, either attract customers or deliver their services over these networks.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

Comments

Showroom

Hanna Instruments Image
Hanna Instruments (Pty) Ltd

We supply customers with practical affordable solutions for their testing needs. Our products include benchtop, portable, in-line process control...

VISIT SHOWROOM 
Goodwin Submersible Pumps Africa (Pty) Ltd
Goodwin Submersible Pumps Africa (Pty) Ltd

Goodwin Submersible Pumps Africa is sole distributors for Goodwin electrically driven, submersible, abrasion resistance slurry pumps.

VISIT SHOWROOM 

Latest Multimedia

sponsored by

Photo of Martin Creamer
On-The-Air (15/03/2024)
15th March 2024 By: Martin Creamer
Magazine round up | 15 March 2024
Magazine round up | 15 March 2024
15th March 2024

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION







sq:0.082 0.132s - 164pq - 2rq
Subscribe Now