Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      World Bank set to back South Africa’s big energy grid roll-out

      20 June 2025

      The algorithm will sing now: why musicians should be worried about AI

      20 June 2025

      Sita hits back at critics, promises faster, automated procurement

      20 June 2025

      The transatlantic race to create the first television

      20 June 2025

      Listed: All the MVNOs in South Africa – 2025 edition

      19 June 2025
    • World

      Watch | Starship rocket explodes in setback to Musk’s Mars mission

      19 June 2025

      Trump Mobile dials into politics, profit and patriarchy

      17 June 2025

      Samsung plots health data hub to link users and doctors in real time

      17 June 2025

      Beijing’s chip champions blacklisted by Taiwan

      16 June 2025

      China is behind in AI chips – but for how much longer?

      13 June 2025
    • In-depth

      Meta bets $72-billion on AI – and investors love it

      17 June 2025

      MultiChoice may unbundle SuperSport from DStv

      12 June 2025

      Grok promised bias-free chat. Then came the edits

      2 June 2025

      Digital fortress: We go inside JB5, Teraco’s giant new AI-ready data centre

      30 May 2025

      Sam Altman and Jony Ive’s big bet to out-Apple Apple

      22 May 2025
    • TCS

      TCS+ | AfriGIS’s Helen Hulett on how tech can help resolve South Africa’s water crisis

      18 June 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E2: South Africa’s digital battlefield

      16 June 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E1: Starlink, BEE and a new leader at Vodacom

      8 June 2025

      TCS+ | The future of mobile money, with MTN’s Kagiso Mothibi

      6 June 2025

      TCS+ | AI is more than hype: Workday execs unpack real human impact

      4 June 2025
    • Opinion

      South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

      17 June 2025

      AI and the future of ICT distribution

      16 June 2025

      Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

      13 June 2025

      Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

      2 June 2025

      South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

      2 June 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SevenC
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » Company News » How SkyWire is helping build smart cities and villages

    How SkyWire is helping build smart cities and villages

    Promoted | There’s a desperate need for smart and cost-effective connectivity across rural, urban and peri-urban environments. SkyWire is delivering.
    By SkyWire29 August 2022
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp

    The past two years have torn off the digital plaster, revealing inequalities that still affect many cities and countries. According to the World Economic Forum, around 37% of the world’s population still doesn’t use the Internet. This is a giant gap that intensifies inequality.

    The primary barrier that’s inhibiting uptake is cost. However, the impact is felt across education, gender, location and income. People with limited access to connectivity and the smart services it delivers are negatively affected across multiple touchpoints and this knocks on into the economy and the country as a whole. This is why smart cities and smart communities need to become a priority, says Tim Archer, head of channel at SkyWire, as they are key to bridging the digital gaps and uplifting citizens.

    “Connectivity is already a proven solution to overcoming many of the challenges that impact Africa’s growth and transformation,” he says. “It can empower the public sector to create smart cities that are capable of revolutionising how it meets citizen needs and it can introduce remote education and innovative solutions to urban areas that lack infrastructure and access, and these factors combined can fundamentally improve the economy. Smart cities and smart villages are not a digital pipe dream, they are proven solutions that can shift many of the continent’s legacy problems.”

    SkyWire has coverage across all nine provinces in South Africa, with access to 66 000 towers nationally

    One such problem is the risk of being left behind. There’s a clear digital shift away from the foundations of the fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) – the digital solution and transformation – towards the fifth Industrial Revolution (5IR), or the human-digital interface that augments experiences through digital devices. Already the digital-physical blend is emerging in real-world solutions across the world while Africa is still working on how to connect communities that have been inhibited by infrastructure or distance.

    “This doesn’t mean that Africa’s about to be left behind,” says Tim. “In fact, with a reputation for leapfrogging legacy tech, Africa is poised to do the opposite. However, there has to be a clear and focused drive towards connectivity and digital inclusion to ensure that no community is left behind.”

    Cost is a factor — it has always been one of the biggest challenges to overcome. But the evolution of technology has seen measurable dips in price. The implementation of a robust network or smart city solution doesn’t come with as high a price tag as in the past, and the bonus is that it comes with advanced features and capabilities that previous, more expensive platforms did not.

    Scale

    Built in the cloud and leveraging smart functionality, connectivity solutions can now scale with the communities and environments they serve and provide users with wireless networks, reliability, information and insights that can be used to refine services and the connectivity provision itself.

    “It’s also important to remember that a smart city isn’t exclusively defined by how digital it is,” says Archer. “It is defined by how well it delivers services, how it measurably improves the quality of life for its citizens, and its ability to consistently improve factors such as healthcare, education and access to utilities. With the right connectivity and Wi-Fi solutions in place, this means any community or village can shift into smarter gears and improve quality of life.”

    The goal here is to uplift communities through the intelligent use of technology that’s relevant to the needs of the people within these communities. This means that the technology has to be reliable and strategically installed so that it delivers robust connectivity to the area that’s accessible by everyone. It will boost access to online learning, encourage small business innovation, and transform communication. Imagine a community locked within the limitations of no Internet suddenly able to see the world through the same digital eyes that everyone else takes for granted.

    “E-mail, WhatsApp, video calling – these are all tools many people use every day without realising that there are others who don’t even know what these are,” says Archer. “Using a robust and reliable connectivity platform, communities and cities can shift into smart gear and change how they engage with the world.”

    SkyWire has the expertise and the ability to deliver networks that are customised to support smart rural cities

    SkyWire has coverage across all nine provinces in South Africa, with access to 66 000 towers nationally with smart communities and cities already built around its wireless connectivity solutions. The wireless offering from SkyWire has also been used by large enterprises as part of their corporate social investment (CSI) strategies – they have funded the implementation of wireless within specific communities and seen immense benefits in brand recognition, social upliftment and increased customer loyalty.

    Instead of expensive network data, communities supported by CSIR initiatives and SkyWire have access to Wi-Fi that’s fast, reliable and cost-effective, and can open up a world of opportunities. SkyWire has the expertise and the ability to deliver networks that are customised to support smart rural communities, providing high-capacity connectivity that empowers people and communities.

    For more information, visit www.skywire.co.za.

    • This promoted content was paid for by the party concerned


    CSIR SkyWire Tim Archer
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleWith Avid, you no longer need to choose between quality and authenticity
    Next Article FortiGuard Labs reports ransomware variants almost double in six months

    Related Posts

    Eskom added no new plant in 2024 yet lights mostly stayed on

    17 March 2025

    NEC XON, SkyWire partner to deliver OneWeb services in rural South Africa

    23 January 2025

    South Africa is falling behind in weather forecasting technology

    13 December 2024
    Add A Comment

    Comments are closed.

    Company News

    Making IT happen: how Trade Link gears up to enable SA retail strategies

    20 June 2025

    Why parents choose CambriLearn for online education

    19 June 2025

    Disrupt first, ask questions later – the uncomfortable truth about incident response

    18 June 2025
    Opinion

    South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

    17 June 2025

    AI and the future of ICT distribution

    16 June 2025

    Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

    13 June 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.