Internet Solutions rolls out its 700th hotspot

Internet Solutions (IS) says it has rolled out its 700th Wi-Fi hotspot in South Africa, just in time for the FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup. In a country where Wi-Fi is about as common as the odd unicorn, that’s good news.

The IS hotspots are made up of key locations through South Africa with a specific focus on the hospitality industry.

“Our focus is very much around providing a great internet experience for all the FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup supporters and the media that are expected to attend this key event later this year,” says Justin Spratt, General Manager of Wi-Fi and VOIP Mobile at IS.

“We have effectively grown our Wi-Fi network by 50 percent year on year for the past two years,” claims Spratt.

Spratt reckons that about “70% of all per MB hotspot traffic throughout the country resides on the Internet Solutions network.”

Internet Solutions has set up partnerships with various players including local airports, Sun International, City Lodge, Extrabold, Three Cities Hotel Group, Mugg and Bean and the Seattle Coffee Company.

“To date we have tripled our ADSL capacity at key locations in order to meet the necessary demand that we foresee in a couple of months time,” says Spratt. “The 15 international roaming agreements we have in place will even further enhance the experience consumers can expect,” says Spratt.