BCM suspends R18m free Wi-Fi project due to vandalism
Initiative was warmly received by residents as job seekers and students would have benefited
The R18m project to install free Wi-Fi hotspots in Buffalo City Metro has temporarily been suspended because of vandalism.
In 2017, BCM rolled out the project to much fanfare to connect residents and students to the internet at no cost at various locations in the metro. The city said it would install 88 free WiFi hotspots at a cost of R18m.
In its endeavour to turn the metro into a smart city, the municipality installed the Wi-Fi hotspots with a daily cap of 200MB per person and a connection speed of four megabits per second (Mbps).
The project was warmly received since job seekers and students would be able to connect and search for jobs online or submit their assignments using the city’s free Wi-Fi.
However, East London internet service provider Luvo Grey and other residents took to social media to complain about the connectivity issues last week.
Grey told the Dispatch none of BCM’s Wi-Fi hotspots had worked since the project had been introduced.
“I have done a couple of tests on many of the Wi-Fi hotspots and none of them actually works. BCM is aware they don’t work, and I am waiting for their response to tell us where the problem is.
“They spent R18m of taxpayers’ money for a project that now does not work.”
When the Dispatch visited some of the free Wi-Fi hotspots areas in Oxford Street, Southernwood and Amalinda this week, not one worked.
BCM spokesperson Samkelo Ngwenya said many had temporarily been disabled because they had been vandalised.
Of the 88 planned hotspots, only 52 have already been installed in East London, Mdantsane and King William’s Town, Bhisho and Dimbaza, Ngwenya said.
He said 13 had been installed in Zwelitsha, nine at Gompo and 14 remain uninstalled in BCM’s store room.
“Due to vandalism of the WiFi equipment and other unforeseen circumstances, we took several actions and temporarily disabled the licences. We are currently looking into improved security and an option to partnering with another organ of state to switch the services on again.
“The technology is improving all the time; the private sector is also investing in fibre networks, making issues of access and speed attainable.
“It is important to also draw some lessons on projects of this nature so that we can improve going forward.
“Due to the high costs of repairs, the project has exceeded our expectations on repairs and maintenance of sites and devices,” he said.
But while most Wi-Fi hotspots remain inactive, youth at Duncan Village Businesses Support centre on Friday said theirs was working “perfectly fine”.
Ayanda Nogaga, 17, who sells fat cakes near the centre, said: “Our Wi-Fi works, I do my homework and research for assignments here. I downloaded new songs this week. Some people don’t have money for data, and some don’t get money from their parents, so this free data helps us a lot.”
Hawker Tembelani Panda agreed.
“We can now easily advertise on WhatsApp and other online platforms. We also get profitable business ideas that we can try from the internet,” he said.