Free WiFi access in Tshwane to end

By: MyBroadband

The extensive WiFi access network in Tshwane - operated by Neology – will grind to a halt next month.

Neology informed free users and paid subscribers that all services on this network will be suspended from the 15th of December.

“Sadly the Proof of Concept agreement with the City of Tshwane has now come to an end. All services will be suspended from the 15th of December. We will not process any further invoices or purchases made from today until the 15th of December,” Neology said in an email.

The WiFi Internet service offered by Neology was welcomed by consumers and was the main access service used by many residents in Hatfield and other areas.

Neology also offered a limited but free WiFi Internet service to anyone with a WiFi enabled device in areas where the company had network coverage.

Key municipal broadband managers depart

Charles Kuhn, widely seen as the driver behind the City of Tshwane’s fiber network and broadband initiatives, has recently left the municipality. This has undoubtedly left a massive void and has affected the progress of Tshwane’s ‘connected city’ plans.

The Joburg Broadband Network Project (JBNP) manager Douglas Cohen also recently left the municipality, saying that he was ‘fighting the machine’. “I got really tired. I was not getting the support I needed and it was affecting my personal life,” Cohen was quoted as saying to ITWeb.

Neology’s Chief Information Officer Regardt van der Vyver said that not much has happened regarding the Joburg Broadband Network Project since Cohen left.

This recent announcement about the Tshwane network from Neology is another blow for municipal broadband initiatives, and without key drivers of these projects like Kuhn and Cohen the future of these projects seems uncertain.