Mining giant Glencore Coal is seeking to expand its community WiFi offering, as its free connectivity has saved more than R102-million in data costs for the beneficiary communities since the initiative’s launch in June 2018.

Glencore set up an initial ten free WiFi hot spots in Ogies and Phola, in eMalahleni municipality, followed by Steve Tshwete and eMakhazeni municipalities, over the two years since the launch of the free community WiFi initiative.

Currently, Glencore hosts 30 hot spots where the communities in the areas where it operates can access free WiFi offered by its partner, Project Isizwe, with the communities consuming over 28 000 GB of free data each month.

“We are delighted to announce that we have reached the R100-million mark. Some of our notable milestones include the highest number of users in a single day with 8 134 users who used 1 317 GB of data on January 20, 2021,” the company says, noting that it has been monitoring total data use since the initiative’s inception.

“If one considers the high data costs in South Africa, offering free data to rural communities equates to massive savings for our communities.”

The WiFi project forms part of Glencore’s commitment to building sustainable communities and empowering community members in Ogies, Phola, Kwa-Guqa, Kriel, Middelburg and Wonderfontein.

The free WiFi enables students to increase their knowledge through research and access to elearning platforms and provides a connected, stimulating environment for local entrepreneurs and business owners to grow.

“We are happy to collaborate with Glencore and provide connectivity to people. Our vision is to connect the entire nation, and it is partners like Glencore who are the true heroes. They enable us to empower African communities,” says Isizwe COO Shireen Powell.

Glencore’s focus for 2021 is to expand the offering and, in collaboration with Project Isizwe, is currently identifying new opportunities to empower the communities further.