South Africa: R200 million to supply broadband for 13 million households
November 3rd 2022
The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies has rolled over R200 million from its budget to provide 13 million households with broadband.
This is according to National Treasury’s individual budget vote documents that accompanied finance minister Enoch Godongwana’s Medium Term Budget Policy Statements for 2022.
The R200 million was part of phase 2 of the Presidential Employment Stimulus.
President Cyril Ramaphosa launched the initiative in 2020, intending to use public investment to support employment opportunities in the wake of the Covid–19 pandemic.
The goal was to support people during South Africa’s Covid–19 lockdown and in the aftermath.
It allocated R346 million to expand broadband connectivity in the country.
During the first phase, it aimed to reach a million people by building Wi-Fi hotspots within walking distance from where they live and through direct home connections in low-income areas.
“In Phase One of the Presidential Employment Stimulus, stakeholders are collaborating in the design of incentives to connect low-income communities to high speed, affordable broadband internet, with the intention of supporting this as part of the medium-term stimulus strategy,” government stated.
“These initiatives, together, will ensure that low-income communities are at the front of the queue for affordable access, ensuring greater equity in the distribution of broadband infrastructure and creating a more level playing field in the process.”
The remaining R200 million of the budget for phase 2 of the Presidential Employment Stimulus broadband initiative has been rolled to the Broadband Access Fund.
“[This] will enable 13 million households to access broadband internet at an affordable rate and competitive speed,” the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies budget vote states.
That works out to R15.38 per household — not much money with which to roll out broadband infrastructure, or even build Wi-Fi access points within walking distance of several homes.
The department said earlier this year that it would subsidise home connectivity and public Wi-Fi hotspots in low-income households and rural communities nationally with the fund.
Communications minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni also announced earlier this year that South Africa aims to give every household 10GB of free monthly data.
It is unclear how this project would be funded. MTN has stated that it is ready to lend a hand, but is concerned about the enormous costs that could be involved.
Ntshavheni said that government is working on a plan to deliver on this promise, adding that the goal is for all households to have 50GB each month by the 2025/6 financial year.
Its short-term goal is to offer 10GB to every household by 2023/24.
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