Google announced last week plans to launch a “Wi-Fi hotzone network” to improve Wi-Fi access in Uganda’s capital city Kampala. A Wi-Fi hotzone network is made up of a series of Wi-Fi hotspots used in conjunction with fibre optic connections.
Google’s ‘Project Link’ work in Uganda started in 2013, where Google created a fibre network in and around Kampala to bring superfast internet connectivity to the city. The network infrastructure was then shared with local operators and internet service providers to price as they wished, ensuring competition in the growing industry.
Now Google is going one step further, and aiming to improve Wi-Fi capabilities in the city too. The number of smart phone users in Uganda, as well as other countries in Africa, has been steadily increasing over the past few years, and it is hoped that improving Wi-Fi connectivity in the city will allow more customers to fully access everything the internet has to offer.
At present, the Wi-Fi network is live in 120 busy locations in Kampala, including transportation hubs and shopping centres. Google hope to grow this figure to better cover the entire city.
Google’s Project Link also provides internet connectivity to the Ghanaian cities of Accra, Kumasi and Tema.