Internet service provider MWeb introduced South Africa to FON earlier this year, a WiFi network that allows subscribers to access an internet connection anywhere that FON coverage is available using their MWeb login details. Now, less than six months on, the FON network in South Africa has expanded enough to be visible on FON’s global map.
MWeb users who participate in the FON network initiative use specific routers that broadcast an internet signal that can be used by passers-by, provided they’re also MWeb users. The total of WiFi hotspots of this nature in South Africa has now passed 24,000, making the network visible on a map though it’s still a far cry from the global total of 12 million FON hotspots.
Hotspots are concentrated around South Africa’s major cities, with the bulk of coverage around Gauteng but a decent amount of FON access in Durban and Cape Town. It seems that MWeb are keen to ramp up the number of access points markedly in future as well.
MWeb Connect’s General Manager Carolyn Holgate said in a statement “Reaching the 24 000 Fon hotspot mark in just four months far exceeded our initial predictions and we are confident that this will increase as people start experiencing Fon and what it’s like to have access to the Internet outside of their homes or offices.”
