![[South Africa] eThekwini Municipality Pioneers a Smart City with Free Public Wi-Fi](Images/Key Industry Images/wifi.jpg)
[South Africa] eThekwini Municipality Pioneers a Smart City with Free Public Wi-Fi
The eThekwini government has launched a three-year public Wi-Fi construction plan to provide convenient and accessible Internet to the public, empowering more citizens to enjoy the beauty of the digital world.
According to the plan, in the next three years, approximately 450 public Wi-Fi hotspots will be available in eThekwini, covering 96 public libraries and the landmark Moses Mabhida Stadium, as well as tourism and business centers, including aquariums, seafronts and the uShaka Marine World.
“The public Wi-Fi solution is important because it helps address the inequality issue caused by high data costs. As an important part of our smart city strategy, we’d like to see more people enjoying free and high-quality Wi-Fi and information services brought by the digital world,” said Immanuel Pillay, the municipal government IP Senior Manager. “For example, with free Wi-Fi, more and more young people can access the Internet and apply for jobs online. This will significantly raise employment, and boost our economic development and social stability.”
“Public Wi-Fi will also allow more people to access educational resources that were inaccessible to them, which is conducive to the development of education,” Immanuel Pillay added.
The eThekwini municipal government has partnered with Huawei to advance this free public Wi-Fi construction plan.
Huawei’s 5G-powered Wi-Fi 6 antenna technology improves the throughput of the entire network by more than 20% and will enable eThekwini citizens to use bandwidth-demanding applications such as 4K and VR smoothly.
The eThekwini Municipality is South Africa’s second-largest economy after Johannesburg and is home to 3.5 million people. In this thriving city, data cost is a major factor affecting the proliferation of Internet access among the majority of residents. The eThekwini government says it has noticed this and recognized that free public Wi-Fi would bring many benefits to its residents.
