USTDA Supports Internet Connectivity Expansion in Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain Townships Outside of Cape Town, South Africa
August 9, 2012
(USTDA)
CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA – Promoting the
expansion of internet connectivity in South
Africa is the goal of a grant signed yesterday
between USTDA Director Leocadia I. Zak and Cape
Town Mayor Patricia De Lille. The grant to the
City of Cape Town will fund a feasibility study
that will evaluate the viability of expanding
internet services in the under-connected areas
of Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain.
The $315,000 grant will support an evaluation
of the suitability of the existing
infrastructure to extend Cape Town's fiber
optic backbone to businesses and households in
Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain. If
implemented, the new network will connect the
two townships to Cape Town's existing fiber
optic network, the first phase of which was
completed in March 2012. The network, known as
the Cape Town Metropolitan Optic Fibre Network
(MOFN), provides increased bandwidth and
connectivity to Internet Service Providers and
the municipality's network. By extending Cape
Town's MOFN and providing advanced network
services to the Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain
townships, citizens will have increased access
to affordable, reliable telecommunications
services in these two important areas on the
outskirts of Cape Town, South Africa.
"This project is a great opportunity for USTDA
to support the expansion of the information and
communication infrastructure in Cape Town,
while also contributing to South Africa's
economic development," said Director Zak. "With
the United States being a leader in
telecommunications, this partnership will play
an important role in helping South Africa meet
their internet connectivity goals."
"Greater and faster internet connectivity is
rapidly becoming as important municipal
infrastructure as roads, electricity, water and
sanitation" said Executive City Mayor Patricia
de Lille. "It will be a key factor in releasing
the entrepreneurial talent that undoubtedly
exists within these communities."
The opportunity to conduct the USTDA-funded
feasibility study will be competed on the
Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) website. A
link to the FBO announcement will be posted to
USTDA's website at www.ustda.gov.
Interested U.S. firms should submit proposals
according to the instructions in the FBO
announcement.
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