Pretoria residents are using the best Wi-Fi in the world.

The Tshwane metro Wi-Fi (TshWiFi) which connects over 2 million people to the internet won at the international IAB Bookmark awards recently. Last year, TshWiFi won the UN-organised World Summit awards.

The metro joined forces with Project Isizwe to roll out the service.

“We needed to use the TshWiFi network as vehicle to reach the people of Tshwane with the kind of content that they needed most,” said Project Isizwe’s spokesperson Peter Adolphs.

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TshWiFi gives its users unlimited access to content that is educational, and many young entrepreneurs have relied on this free portal to gain more customers and sell their products and services.

“From the start, since 2013, 2.9 million users have connected to the internet via 1050 free internet zones (FIZ) situated in public spaces at schools, healthcare facilities and community centres predominantly serving the low income communities living and working in the city’s townships. As well as budding entrepreneurs who rely on internet,” said Adolphs.

“These users have always wanted digital content that is tailored to suit them in a way that no international site can provide and TshWiFi does that,” he said.

There over 700 000 monthly users are allocated 500 megabyte of data each.

The portal also inspires people to actively participate in the making and dissemination of news through its online TV channel TshWiFi TV, which received a silver award for its efforts to inspire residents to drive citizen journalism.

“TshWiFi TV is a service created by citizen journalists who could post news and events happening in their areas,” explained Adolphs.

“These citizen journalists are giving a voice to their communities in the digital world which is a massive achievement for TshWiFi, the metro and Project Isizwe.”

The TV channel has not only helped communities share stories but has produced young talent.

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“The partnership has created a training model that formally facilitates the learning and skills development for the young media producers. Over 20 citizen journalists have been trained, with empowering and employment opportunities facilitated through TshWiFi TV,” he said.

The metro’s goal of becoming the most connected city on the African continent is one step closer to being realised. TshwiFi, according to Adolphs.

“It has been selected as winner in the 2016 World Summit awards, an event of the UN in an effort to bridge the world’s digital divide.

The portal can be reached on TshWiFi.co.za,” he said.

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