The Western Cape government’s planned investment in its Broadband Initiative has significantly trumped that of Gauteng province.
Alan Winde, minister of finance, economic development and tourism for the province, outlined his department’s budget for 2013/14 on Friday, which included almost ZAR53 million (US$5.7 million) on broadband rollout.
HumanIPO reported earlier this month Mandla Nkomfe, Gauteng MEC for finance, announced ZAR5 million would go towards the Gauteng Broadband Network in 2013/13 and in total ZAR16 million would spent over the next three years.
Speaking on Friday, Winde said: “Infrastructure plays an important role in promoting growth. A lack of adequate infrastructure can hinder potential growth, weaken international competitiveness and adversely affect poverty reduction rates.
“That is why in the year ahead, we will enhance strategic infrastructure in our province with an allocation of ZAR78.826 million. This amount includes earmarked allocations of ZAR52.746 million for the Broadband Initiative.”
One of the successful broadband initiatives in the Western Cape has been the construction of a fibre-optic broadband network by the City of Cape Town.
That service, which is currently being delivered by RSAWeb, has managed to cut part state-owned Telkom out of the loop and can deliver data speeds up to 1Gbps in the central business district (CBD).
