Google’s Project Link scheme, which was set up to enable the provision of more reliable internet connections in poorly served areas, has launched a network of Wi-Fi hotspots in the Ugandan capital Kampala which can be used by local telcos to provide services to end users. The network incorporates around 120 hotspots located in malls, hostels, restaurants and public places. The first operator to utilise the new infrastructure is Roke Telkom, which is providing a limited free service, or offering a day’s full access for UGX1,000 (USD0.27), or a week for UGX5,000 and a month for UGX18,000.
‘With the help of Project Link’s new Wi-Fi hotzone network, internet providers in Kampala will have access to shared infrastructure that can help them enhance their Wi-Fi services and meet the bandwidth needs of Uganda’s largest city,’ BiztechAfrica quotes Project Link’s Ela Beres as saying.
This is not Google’s first foray into the Ugandan telecoms sector; back in November 2013 Project Link switched on a fibre-optic network in Kampala which is leased to operators on a wholesale basis.