South Africa connects 9,056 household Wi-Fi hotspots

The South African government and Broadband Infraco have connected 9,056 household Wi-Fi connections and 231 community Wi-Fi hotspots across the country as of 1 January 2024.

This is according to Mondli Gungubele, South Africa’s communications minister, who revealed the figures in response to parliamentary questions from Democratic Alliance MP Tsholofelo Motshidi-Bodlani.

According to his figures, KwaZulu-Natal’s Harry Gwala district municipality has the highest number of household Wi-Fi installations, while several districts do not have any installed.

The Harry Gwala district has 1,753 household Wi-Fi installations, while KwaZulu Natal’s Ugu district has 1,512.

The combined figure of 3,265 connections is the highest of any province in the country.

The next-most connected province — the Eastern Cape — has 2,001 installations split across three districts.

The Joe Gqabi district has the highest concentration at 1,284 installations, compared to 400 and 317 in the Sarah Baartman and Buffalo City municipalities.

Gauteng has the third-most household Wi-Fi connections, with 700 in Sedibeng and 1,087 in the West Rand.

Limpopo and the Free State are the only two other provinces in which the government and Broadband Infraco have installed household Wi-Fi connections.

Limpopo’s Waterberg district has 1,003 installations, while its Vhembe municipality has 101. On the other hand, the Free State has a total of 899 connections across the Fezile Dabi and Xhariep districts.

Government and Broadband Infraco have yet to install any household Wi-Fi connections in the Northern Cape, Western Cape, and the North West.

The number of community Wi-Fi hotspots installed across South Africa is significantly less at 231, with sites being spread across five of the country’s nine provinces.

This includes the Eastern Cape with 16, Limpopo with three, the Free State with 20, KwaZulu-Natal with 157, and Gauteng with 35.

Gungubele presented the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies’ (DCDT’s) 2023-24 Budget Vote speech in May 2023, promising that the government planned to deploy 9,900 access points during the financial year.

“Through our flagship programme, SA Connect, we are dedicated to bridging the digital divide by providing Wi-Fi access to communities and ensuring universal access to the internet,” the minister said.

“This year, we plan to deploy 9,900 hotspots in 16 districts across the country. We aim to reach 80% connectivity by 2024. To fund this project, we have allocated R1,3 billion.”

His announcement expanded on the Wi-Fi access initiatives former minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni announced during the 2022-23 Budget Vote.

In 2022, the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT) rolled over a R200 million allocation from its budget to provide low-cost broadband access to 13 million households nationwide.

The funds destined for the Broadband Access Fund formed part of the Presidential Employment Stimulus’ second phase. President Cyril Ramaphosa launched the initiative in 2020.

“[This] will enable 13 million households to access broadband internet at an affordable rate and competitive speed,” the DCDT said in its Budget Vote.

Ramaphosa’s cabinet approved the rollout of the project’s second phase towards the end of January 2022, and the DCDT said it had already started engaging with the National Treasury.

“Funding has been requested from the National Treasury to establish the Broadband Fund with the objective to subsidise household connectivity and public Wi-Fi hotspots in low-income households and rural communities nationally,” it said.

“The Broadband Fund will be implemented under the SA Connect programme to leverage potential opportunities.”

The table below provides a breakdown of household Wi-Fi and community hotspots connected across South Africa.