Google brings free Wi-Fi to Cape Flats
Free Wi-Fi was introduced in more than 100 locations on the Cape Flats on Thursday, thanks to Google.
“By gaining access to information via the internet, we hope that people in these communities will get a more equal opportunity to learn and develop, and live more empowered lives,” Google Africa director Nitin Gajria said.
He said the Google Station service was available in areas including Langa, Khayelitsha, Gugulethu, Delft, Elsies River and Philippi.
Google Station has been launched with internet service provider ThinkWifi, and will allow users to get 30 minutes of free Wi-Fi at a time.
They can keep connecting as many times as they want.
The service launched in Indian railway stations in 2017, and has since expanded to Nigeria, Indonesia, Mexico, Thailand, the Philippines, Brazil and Vietnam.
The Cape Flats initiative was one of several announced at the Google for South Africa event in Johannesburg.
Google’s head of marketing for SA, Asha Patel, said $1m (R14.7m) was being donated to organisations and social enterprises that supported the empowerment of women.
“One of the key focus areas of our programmes has been the empowerment of women and minority groups, and I’m happy to say that 48% of the people we have trained in SA are women,” Patel said.
A speech-based reading app that helps children learn how to read in English, Bolo, is also being launched in SA.
It encourages children to read out aloud and then provides individual, customised feedback.
Google is also introducing Cameos, a selfie-style video app that allows celebrities and public figures to answer questions about themselves directly within Google Search.
Gajria said SA users of Google Assistant were now able to use it to order an Uber or read SA news from their favourite outlets.