Sustainability of broadband Wi-Fi internet access project in Ratlou local municipality in the Northwest Province

Abstract

To connect and integrate people, government, and business in the interest of economic growth and social cohesion, the Government of South Africa has decided on a programme to connect rural areas through free broadband internet access projects. But provision of free broadband internet access through the support from government is not continuous. Thus, the purpose of this research was to assess the possibility to sustain free Broadband Wi-Fi Internet Access project upon expiry of government subsidy. The literature showed that there were good interventions in which other countries embarked on to try and sustain deployed free broadband internet services in rural areas. Field work was thereafter conducted to test the correctness or incorrectness of the gathered literature. The research followed a Qualitative method and applied Constructivism Paradigm approach. The research discovered that it is not possible for deployed free broadband Wi-Fi internet access project to be sustainable after the expiry of government subsidy period. Some recommendations for possible areas of improvement were made, but these suggestions are not solutions rather they are platforms to assist for better implementation and possible solution to sustainability of similar projects in future. Suggestions were made to conduct further study to discover possible intervention