Liquid Telecom said on Thursday that it will work with the Western Cape government to increase the number of free public Wi-Fi hotspots from 178 to 1 600.

The roll-out forms part of a R3-billion project to provide broadband connectivity to provincial government offices, libraries, schools and clinics.

The new expanded public Wi-Fi network will be available across all municipalities and provide 3GB of data per device per month at speeds five times faster than the current service, Liquid Telecom said in a statement.

Each of the public Wi-Fi hotspots will allow users with Wi-Fi-enabled devices to connect without any logins or passwords. The hotspots will be installed over the next three years, and the project will run for five years in total.
The company already offers 178 active hotspots at government buildings in 12 municipalities in the province.

These provide 250MB of free data per device per month, and just over 910 000 devices have connected to the network since it was launched in March 2016.

“As the cost of mobile broadband is prohibitive for many, particularly rural communities, public access Wi-Fi networks present an opportunity for citizens to connect, not only with each other but, also for employment and business opportunities. This is especially important as many communities rely heavily on mobile phones to stay in touch,” it said. — © 2018 NewsCentral Media