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BT and Coke To Offer Free Rural Wi-Fi In South Africa Through Vending Machines
An anonymous reader writes "BT Global Services is installing free Wi-Fi access points in Coca-Cola vending machines in rural parts of South Africa. "South African consumers will soon be able to quench their thirst and check their e-mail at the same time. Coca-Cola and BT Global Services have announced plans to offer free Wi-Fi Internet access in impoverished communities using Coke’s vending machines. BT – formerly British Telecom – will provide connectivity, support and business training as part of the roll-out. The pilot project has been launched in the rural Eastern Cape and in rural Mpumalanga. Sites were chosen for their accessibility to local communities, the companies said."
Sometimes free WiFi is just free WiFi rather than an evil corporate plot to destroy your culture.
They'll run the project to rave reviews for years, then suddenly replace all the 2.4 Ghz access points for 5 Ghz-only ones.
Only a small percentage of people will enjoy the new service, and everyone else will complain about how they can't use their 802.11b and older 802.11n devices on it. Then they will begin running the old routers in tandem. Users will be able to pick them up under with the SSID "Classic".
Eventually the 5 Ghz routers will be decommissioned and no one will speak of them again.
I'd bet the machines phone home to report when they need to be restocked. I wonder how long until they have security cameras in them.
In five years time scientists will be pondering why there's an obesity crisis among Africans who like using mobile internet devices... the mainstream press will come to the conclusion that Africans are just lazy and need to do more exercise.
Why does only South Africa get this? We desperately need this in the US.
It keeps the people in the vicinity and the extra sales might well cover the costs, provided they can get the uplink reasonably cheaply. No word on that, though. If all you'll get is dialup-on-rusty-wire type uplink speeds, might not be that hot of an offering. Any ZA-resident reader can shed some light on this?
Nooit, lekker! Ja, on my way in my bakkie right now, stuck by a robot. Will set up a braai by the bokkie machine as soon as I get there and enjoy the wifi without paying a buck for the kif. Let's hope the reception isn't all kak.
I think Africa has more serious problems besides "can I check my email" and "where can I buy a coke."
Om, nomnomnom...
Proof that wi-fi, or coca-cola, or both, gives you cancer.
BT can't even offer decent broadband service to the whole of the UK, ffs.
Yeah, I had a sig once; I got bored of it.
That terminology is not exactly politically correct in ZA. I believe the correct term is "Wifi internet access point".
Free, as in your money being freed from the confines of your account.
I can see what Ingress portal submits they're going to do: one coke machine, one vending machine, ... :)
Learn about pinball machines on www.flippers.be
Will they filter out adult web content?
Or will you be able to have "A coke and a smile." ;)
I guess they'll start using their IEEE vendor ID for MAC addresses then...
Coke doesnt cause obesity any more than chocolate cake does. Consuming a lot of those certainly might cause obesity, however.
Am I the only one who read this and though BT the musician, instead of the telco?
Chocolate cake absolutely does cause obesity. So you are arguing that Coke dose cause obesity? Uh??
This could be interesting. I wonder how much the increased access will increase the number of dying officials with a metal box in a security company?
I hope South Africa manages to shed the reputation by their counterparts in Nigeria and close neighbors. I hope they use it for education such as provided by Khan Academy to better themselves.
The truth shall set you free!
I hope they do broadband in ZA better than they do in the UK
Vending machines are all over the place, they are connected anyway... nice.
"Win treats sysadmins better than users. Mac treats users better than sysadmins. Linux treats everyone like sysadmins."
Coke doesnt cause obesity any more than chocolate cake does. Consuming a lot of those certainly might cause obesity, however.
people don't usually eat 3 slices of chocolate cake every day though, or casually eat chocolate cake while sitting at their desk, then going and getting another slice when the first one is gone.
I think the point is that people shouldn't be drinking coke like it's water; so in effect coke itself doesn't cause obesity, the overconsumption does. Cola is a great beverage if you've neglected to eat or drink for three quarters of a day and your legs won't stop shaking when you stand up. Drinking a single can of coke'll get your strength back up for long enough to get yourself something actually nutritious to eat or drink.
Actually, in the areas we're talking about, people would be much better off drinking Coke than water - the reduced risk from waterborne disease far outweighs the negatives from the sugar.
Starting from normal average weight, do you think that if you went out and ate a slice of chocolate cake and washed it down with a Coke you would suddenly gain 20 pounds? Even if that was all you ate in a day?
No. The simple fact is that you can eat junk food every day for every meal and still lose weight as long as you don't eat a whole lot of it. Likewise, you can gain weight just eating healthy foods in large quantities. Calories are meaningless. The only thing that matters is mass in vs. mass out. Mass can get out in a variety of ways even if sometimes it doesn't want to leave, but there's only one way it's getting in.
...and, while we're at it, the caloric intake of the sugar is probably a plus as well.
If you consume anything with high fructose corn syrup over time, it has a cumulative effect including the buildup of yellow fat around the internal organs... it starts getting really nasty... cascading health effects including diabetes, heart disease, etc. If you're addicted to soft drinks, it's no different than being addicted to cigarettes, pot or anything else: you ignore the evidence that the stuff is ruining your body, making you a social pariah and draining your wallet, and emphasize anything you can justify as exculpatory, beneficial or that minimizes the negative effects.
I was standing near a McDonald's as people lined up for the free soda refills: every one of them was clearly obese. When I went to have a salad later with friends at a place that serve much healthier fare, sho' nuf, there were a couple that were slightly over weight, but none were obese and all looked far healthier than at Mickey D's.
I'll stick to carrot juice, thank you... I bet you never even tasted it to notice that it's curiously sweet and smooth, and doesn't leave you feeling wired, or give you a sugar low in an hour or so like a Coke will.
Bill Dale in Los Angeles, even though I'm posting as "anonymous" cuz I can't get the submission system to work right... no coward, here... I stand by my convictions.
We Dutch got that already, many of our coffeeshops have free Wi-Fi... it's not coke but it's weed. Or did they mean the other coke ?
-- 29A the number of the Beast