BT and Coke To Offer Free Rural Wi-Fi In South Africa Through Vending Machines

Posted by samzenpus on Thursday September 25, 2014 @07:07PM from the have-some-internet dept.

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."

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I can see the future. by SeaFox · 2014-09-25 19:39 · Score: 5, Funny

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.