BRACE yourselves for free data Mzansi!
The price of data in South Africa remains high for people who barely afford to access the internet.
In a bid to curb this problem, the Minister of Communications Khumbudzo Ntshavheni has promised that the government will be providing 10GB of free data to every household in Mzansi.
Mybroadband reported that the allocation of the data would be similar to basic municipal water and electricity services.
Speaking during the joint State of the Nation debate at the City Hall in Cape Town on Tuesday, 15 February Nthsavheni said every household would automatically qualify for the data regardless of income.
“Data has become a new utility like water and electricity that our home needs.
“At some point, a South African household, despite whether they are rich or poor, will be given access to 10GB per month, because that is what the government will deliver, and this is what we intend to do,” Nthsavheni said.
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It is not clear when this promise from the government will materialize as the fight for an auction for spectrum continues among the top network operators in the country.
Last month, the Independent Communication Authority of South Africa (ICASA) revealed that it had received six applications for the auctioning of high-demand spectrum in March this year.
It is expected that once the spectrum is auctioned data will be cheaper and more affordable.
The six network operators that are on course to bid for spectrum are MTN, Cell C, Vodacom, Telkom, Rain, and Liquid Telecoms.
