Free Wi-Fi in Tshwane tested: impressive results
Project Isizwe launched the first phase of its free Wi-Fi in the City of Tshwane on 26 November 2013, offering free Internet access in five areas in the city.
The Tshwane fibre backhaul network was used for the project, and Neotel provided an Internet breakout of 200Mbps.
“Free Internet Zones (FIZs)” were launched at the TUT Soshanguve Campus, University of Pretoria – Hatfield Campus, Tshwane North College, Mamelodi Community Centre, and Church Square in the Pretoria CBD.
Each of these Free Internet Zone (FIZ) locations allow users with Wi-Fi enabled devices to access free internet without any logins or passwords.
A fair usage policy limits users to a data cap of 250MB per device per day, and prohibits access to certain websites including pornography and alcohol related destinations.
Project Isizwe said that users can expect average speeds of 1Mbps download and 256kbps upload when using the service.
Tshwane Free Wi-Fi at the University of Pretoria Hatfield campus
Free Wi-Fi in Tshwane tested
MyBroadband tested Project Isizwe’s free Wi-Fi in Tshwane at the University of Pretoria’s Hatfield Campus.
The tests were performed around 19:00 on a weekday, which means that the network was quiet.
It was simple to connect to the service: select the Tshwane Free Wi-Fi hotspot, open a browser and click on the “Connect Now” button on the startup screen.
Tshwane Free Wi-Fi
Free Wi-Fi in Tshwane speed tests
We used MyBroadband’s custom Ookla speed test server to test the speed of the free Wi-Fi service.
The results were impressive. The network was very stable, and all the speed tests showed download speeds in excess of 6Mbps. Upload speeds were in the same range.
Tshwane Free Wi-Fi speed test results
Latency tests also showed a stable network with low pings to most local and international destinations.
MyBroadband also logged into a gaming server (chessclub.com), and the latency was on par with fixed line broadband products in South Africa like ADSL.
Tshwane Free Wi-Fi speed test results latency tests
Web surfing and email
For everyday tasks such as web surfing and downloading e-mails, the free Wi-Fi service worked well.
The only problem which we encountered was sending e-mail from mail client Outlook, which gave an SMTP e-mail server error.
Tshwane Free Wi-Fi email sending error
Free Wi-Fi in Tshwane verdict
The Free Wi-Fi in Tshwane service performed surprisingly well. The service is fast, and very stable.
It should be noted that the service was tested shortly after launch and during a quiet period, which means that the network was quiet at the time.
The true test will come when the service gains popularity and is used by many people during peak times.
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