US funds feasibility study to bridge digital divide
THE Western Cape has secured a R20 million grant from the US government for a feasibility study to expand broadband infrastructure for half a million people in the province.
The deal between the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) and the provincial government was inked on Tuesday morning at a ceremony in Cape Town.
The funds will be used to help the province find solutions to bridge the digital divide and strengthen internet access in marginalised and rural communities.
US Consul General Todd Haskell said at the ceremony: “Our commitment to these goals ensures that the United States is the top foreign direct investor in the province and the province’s top export market with over $1.5 billion in bilateral trade annually.”
The study will assess the economic and technical viability of deploying new broadband infrastructure across the province, as well as potential ownership and operations models for future broadband deployments.
Asked about the time frame of the study, USTDA regional director Heather Lanigan said the goal was to have the study completed by the end of the year.
It will advance the province’s aim of connecting each town and village in the province to affordable high-speed broadband networks.
Premier Alan Winde said the initial reason for the broadband rollout was to connect those citizens who would not normally be in a position to connect to wi-fi via the private sector.
He said the original rollout had been triggered by a World Bank study which showed that when citizens from poor areas had wi-fi it enhanced GDP growth percentage rates, and was a phenomenal driver of opportunity.
“The question now is whether we are still focusing on the right thing. I ask this because the one thing that is certain in this innovative world that we find ourselves in is that things change very fast. And so it is necessary to ask these questions while learning from what we have done in the past.”
Winde said the province had already invested R3bn to create more than 1 000 free wi-fi hot spots across the province, and had also connected schools.
The department of the premier’s Centre for e-Innovation, deputy director-general Hilton Arendse, said that on average about 250 000 people across the province used the province’s public wi-fi service, which was spread across 1 285 sites across the Western Cape.
The project is part of a USTDA initiative called Access Africa, which is meant to advance the development of “inclusive, secure, and sustainable ICT infrastructure across Africa”.
Access Africa itself is part of the US government’s Prosper Africa initiative to substantially increase two-way trade and investment between the US and Africa.
USTDA’s director, Enoh Ebong, said the agency was proud to expand its portfolio of activities in a way that advanced South Africa’s digital transformation goals.