Project Problem and Justification
The social and economic development of the Garden Route region is greatly hampered by poor data and telecommunication infrastructure.
There is a great need for better quality internet services to more people. This is especially so in the case of under-serviced rural communities and organizations.
It is also recognized that there are currently no reason to believe that any meaningful incentives from governmental or other institutions will be forthcoming to change this situation in the foreseeable future.
Key areas of the problem are the following:
- 100 schools, identified by the Department of Education, as being high-predatorily schools with a critical need for internet connectivity. There currently is no immediate solution to the needs of these schools.
- Large numbers of community organizations currently have no- or very limited internet access.
- Low income areas generally have very poor- or no internet access at all and are in dire need of hotspot availability and free internet services.
- Large portions of the rural regions have no internet and telephone access, or very limited access, or have as their only access medium, unreasonably expensive cell phone technology.
