The Western Cape government, together with Internet service provider Neotel, last month launched the first 50 of 384 planned public access WiFi hot spots.
The 384 hot spots have been strategically located to ensure maximum coverage for all citizens. The Western Cape government is aiming to achieve complete coverage by 2019, by which time all 384 hot spots will be activated.
The WiFi hot spots will be mounted on the external walls of buildings and will point out towards nearby communities. Depending on topography, the hot spots have a range of up to 200 m.
The Western Cape government is also focused on bringing connectivity to rural areas, with a hot spot in every single ward.
Citizens will have access to 300 MB of data free for browsing on their first connection and thereafter 250 MB a month.
A specialised content portal has been devised to allow unlimited browsing of government websites, as well as a digital literacy course.
Users of the Neotel WiFi hot spots will also be able to top up at the lowest Internet rates in South Africa, at R5 a day for up to 700 MB.
In a statement released last month, the Western Cape government said its main priority was to grow the economy and create jobs, and WiFi connectivity was an enabler in achieving that.
E-commerce is growing at a rate of around 30% a year, resulting in an Internet economy worth R59-billion in 2011 and making up 2% of the South African economy, which will grow to as much as 2.5% of the economy by 2016.
The World Bank has shown that a 10% increase in broadband penetration results in a 1.38% increase in gross domestic product.