Broadband roll-out in the Western Cape

THE Western Cape government’s broadband roll-out, championed by Premier Helen Zille, has more than 1 800 points throughout the province and is reaching thousands.

Speaking on the sidelines of a meeting of the standing committee on the premier, Brent Gerber, director-general in the Department of the Premier, said the R3.6 billion project, which will be spent over 10 years, is in its third year and government spends about R300 million annually.

“We are making good progress with the project. So far we have 1 800 points with internet speeds of 10Mbps. We are busy with schools mostly and this helps with e-learning,” he said.

Gerber said schools are not their only focus though.

“We are going to offer wifi facilities to areas around, for instance, schools where residents can get 500MB free every month. This is all happening outside the Cape Metro region,” he said.

Gerber also said there are plans for faster internet speeds and more internet access points.

“The good thing about this project is that we can roll-out fibre which can be used by hospitals, government facilities and the business community. So not only do more people have access to the internet, it is also an advantage for business and other critical services,” he said.

At the end of the project it is hoped that internet speeds of 1Gbps will be available, Gerber said.