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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."
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 don't know man. The internet really sucks without coke...
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
Extremely low density of vending machines in the US. Now, Japan...
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?
I'm just surprised they didn't do a system where there's a code on the side of the can good for something like an hour's access. Would drive sales nicely.
'Don't worry' said the trees when they saw the axe coming, 'The handle is one of us.'
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.
That doesn't mean Coca cola can solve those problems.
Well, I might have a way, but it only works on a semi spherical planet in a vacuum.
That doesn't mean Coca cola can solve those problems.
Actually they can. See http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/09/25/coke-applies-supply-chain-expertise-to-deliver-aids-drugs-in-africa.html
Basically coke success has been built on it's supply chain. It can deliver coke to nearly anywhere in the world. That supply chain expertise is being tapped to deliver various other medical essentials to remote places as well.
Just wait until they're hooked onto this Internet thing. Then they'll start charging.
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
If they'd stuck with the original formula that contained traces of cocaine, of course...
In South American regions coca is available over the counter in dry leaf form (for mastication during highland walks) and in tea bags, obviously at lower concentrations than the white powder rich folks snort.
Will they filter out adult web content?
Or will you be able to have "A coke and a smile." ;)
Coke doesnt cause obesity any more than chocolate cake does. Consuming a lot of those certainly might cause obesity, however.
I'm just surprised they didn't do a system where there's a code on the side of the can good for something like an hour's access.
Problem is the potential customers don't have a credit card to activate their can.
"Africa"
Africa is the world's second-largest continent, in case you didn't notice.
Not all people in Africa are starving or at war.
Sure, and it's full of abject poverty, petty dictatorships, and in many places has an education level of where the western world was ~1000 years ago, sometimes earlier. And while "not all people in africa are starving or at war" large segments of it are. The same large segments can't produce enough food to feed itself, and every time a country or person tries to fix it, it becomes a tribalized mess.
Om, nomnomnom...
How about "can I check my email to see if the delivery of anti-malaria medicine for my village is on its way" ?
Or "can I send an email to offer my crop for sale" ?
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!
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.
I was wondering why BitTorrent was teaming up with Coke to offer free rural wifi...
Yes.
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.
Yeah, where to toss the can/bottle even spawned its own documentary back in the day.
I only look human.
My mother is a halfling and my dad is an ogre, so that makes me an Ogreling
If my customers don't have a credit card, they can shuffle right off...
...and, while we're at it, the caloric intake of the sugar is probably a plus as well.
You mean, OTHER medical essentials as in, besides Coke?
Diet Coke.
Or it could be just a promotional stunt for the new movie "The Gods Must Be Crazy" part IV.
Extremely low density of vending machines in the US. Now, Japan...
Never mind wifi. Japan could build a bluetooth network with 80% coverage from their vending machines.
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
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
This is pseudoscientific nonsense.
The chemical difference between sucrose and HFCS is generally that the sucrose gets cleaved into what is essentially HFCS inside your body by sucrase prior to being digested. Lets look at the two side by side:
* HFCS is generally a nearly 50-50 mix of glucose and fructose
* Sugar is a glucose joined to a fructose by a single atomic bond which is severed in the body, resulting in... a 50-50 mix of fructose and glucose.
Of the two primary mixtures of HFCS out there, one of them has more glucose (the "healthy" sugar) than fructose, while sugar is ALWAYS a 50-50 mix. In terms of purity, keep in mind that cane sugar requires processing and can have contaminants or byproducts in it just like HFCS.
There is absolutely zero evidence that there is a measurable difference between HFCS and sucrose in the body. There was a single study in Yale that was widely ridiculed for its terrible experimental design and lack of controls, which is perhaps where you're getting this misconception.