Despite the lower cost of W-Fi compared to mobile network connectivity, there is still low adoption of the technology in emerging markets such as South Africa, says an industry player.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn developed markets the Wi-Fi adoption in homes is more or less 100%, in sub-Saharan Africa you still only see home Wi-Fi adoption for the privileged few,\u201d Johan Terve, vice president of Marketing at Aptilo Networks told Fin24.<\/p>\n
The company specialises in carrier offload and has operations in 65 countries. Terve was speaking on the sidelines of the AfricaCom tech showcase underway in Cape Town.<\/p>\n
He said that in countries like SA, Wi-Fi was emerging as a competitive advantage for businesses that offered internet connectivity.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn emerging markets adoption rates are concentrated around larger corporate offices that have Wi-Fi (for example, in sub-Saharan Africa), or in internet caf\u00e9s, so in these instances you find that Wi-Fi access all revolves around one access point (or a grouping of access points). Wi-Fi has become the modern-day water hole. People gravitate to these locations to get access.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Brendan Research study found that customers appreciated free Wi-Fi internet access at businesses more than magazines, chocolates and water.<\/p>\n
According to a paper by iGR which polled 400 small businesses offering Wi-Fi access, 50.1% of customers spent more money and 61.3% spent more time in the establishments.
\nHowever, Terve said hype around Wi-Fi in emerging markets was centred around the scarcity of internet access.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe perception that it is higher adoption rates for Wi-Fi in emerging markets comes from that in emerging markets it is a \u2018big thing\u2019 while in developed markets it is as similar to water coming out of the pipe.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that mobile operators would only roll out Wi-Fi service where it made business sense.<\/p>\n
In SA, the City of Tshwane has deployed a scalable Wi-Fi programme and Terve suggested that access programmes be expanded around high traffic areas.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor Wi-Fi to be sustainable, hotspots should be deployed around where people normally aggregate: In shopping malls. It is also many times necessary for governments to actively go in and subsidise Wi-Fi in underserved areas to drive the economy in a positive direction.\u201d<\/p>\n
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