As efforts to reduce the digital divide across Africa gather speed, South Africa plans to connect 5.5 million rural and township households over the next three years, starting with 1.5 million this year.

This is according to the minister of communications and digital technologies, Mondli Gungubele, who addressed media in Pretoria yesterday, detailing government plans to connect 5.5 million households.

He said: “We are dedicated to bridging the digital divide by providing Wi-Fi access to communities and ensuring universal access to the internet.

“This year, we have connected over 740 000 households to the internet, enabled by the installation of 4 250 Wi-Fi hotspots.

“This work involved the participation of 76 Internet Service Providers, which are Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises , and resulted in 4 500 direct jobs, and many more indirect jobs and opportunities downstream.”

South Africa's commitment to closing the digital divide comes in the wake of mounting efforts to make internet connectivity affordable across the world.

Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Secretary-General of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), stated in February that mobile operator groups had committed to investing more than $9 billion to expand global connectivity.

The announcement was made at the Mobile World Congress 2024.

According to data from the ITU, which promotes communication technology innovation, approximately 2.6 billion people globally are still offline.