The City of Johannesburg (CoJ) has for some time been providing its residents with internet access through its more than 400 active, free, WiFi hotspots across the city’s seven regions.

These hotspots can be found in more than 80 libraries, over 30 clinics, at swimming pools, at Rea Vaya bus stations and many other places, but recently residents noticed that the service was unavailable.

The question now being asked was, “Is the new mayor in the process of shutting down the free WiFi programme?” People took to Twitter to express their concern over this situation and find answers to this burning question.

The Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Finance, Dr Rabelani Dagada, did his best to put their minds at ease and dispel the rumours of the programme being shut down.

According to the Director of Mayoral Communications, Tony Taverna-Turisan, the CoJ and Mayor Herman Mashaba have no intention to shut down the free WiFi programme. “In fact, plans are currently under way to expand the number of free WiFi hotspots across the city,” he said.

“When the residents advised us that some of the WiFi hotspots were not available, we immediately dispatched technicians to attend to the problem.

It is important to note that only a few sites are down – the majority of the hotspots are still up and running,” Taverna-Turisan said. Approximately 70 per cent of the WiFi service has already been restored.

The City is aware of the importance of these WiFi hotspots in providing residents with access to the internet, and encourages the public to come forward when problems are being experienced, in order for them to be dealt with immediately. He concluded by saying, “We want to reiterate the City’s commitment to the implementation and continued expansion of the free WiFi service.”

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