The R1.2-billion Gauteng Broadband Network (GBN) roll-out was well under way, with Gauteng Finance MEC Barbara Creecy, whose department is overseeing the project, confirming on Tuesday that the first two hubs were in the process of being connected.

In an interview following the tabling of the department’s annual report in the Gauteng Legislature, Creecy told Engineering News Online that provincial facilities at 75 Fox street and 82 Greyston drive would be connected soon.

In all, eight provincial-government nodes had been included in the roll-out, the contract for which was awarded to Altech in February.

The initial aim was to enhance and lower the cost of voice and data services to the provincial offices and to become the “backbone on which e-government services will be provided”.

However, Creecy indicated that the GBN was part of a broader information and communication technology (ICT) strategy, designed to foster entrepreneurship through an enabling environment for “innovative thinking and trend setting”.

The former Education MEC was particularly excited about the potential of using broadband infrastructure to enhance digital-technology access in Gauteng classrooms.

But she also saw the network as a potential catalyst for improving services at clinics and hospitals, vehicle licensing centres and in the administration of housing applications.

Premier David Makhura had established an e-government steering committee in a bid to foster common standards and applications across the ‘city region’ and to ensure that ICT initiatives were driven by the needs of citizens rather than by the agendas of service providers.

Creecy described the GBN as government’s ‘super highway’ and said it would be comparable to the best available networks in developed countries.

“The full implementation of GBN will see over 95% of citizens accessing the Internet. This will be a critical step in bringing government closer to the people in a smart and cost effective manner."

Creecy also stressed that the network roll-out was closely aligned with the ICT aspects of the National Development Plan, which envisaged easy access to information, which, in turn, was seen as having the potential to stimulate entrepreneurship.