Glencore’s Community Free Wi-Fi Reaches 100 Million Mark!
In June 2018, Glencore Coal embarked on a mission to empower local communities by offering free Wi-Fi in its operation area. Initially, we set up ten free Wi-Fi hotspots in Ogies and Phola in the eMalahleni Municipality. The project's immediate success prompted us to continue with the rollout and over the next two years, we expanded our offering into both Steve Tshwete and Emakhazeni Municipalities. Today we are proud to have 30 hotspots where our communities can enjoy free Wi-Fi offered by our partner, Project Isizwe.
Since the inception of the Wi-Fi project, we have been monitoring total data usage. If one considers the high data costs in South Africa, offering free data to rural communities equates to massive saving to our communities. How much? We are delighted to announce that we have reached the 100 million mark with a total community savings of R102 075 369,00 in data costs. Some of our notable milestones include the highest number of users in a single day with 8,134 users who used 1,317GB of data on 20 January 2021. Our host communities are consuming over 28,000 GB of data for free, each month.
The Wi-Fi project forms part of our commitment to building sustainable communities and empowering our community members in Ogies, Phola, Kwa-Guqa, Kriel, Middelburg and Wonderfontein. By providing free Wi-Fi, we enable students to increase their knowledge through research and access to e-Learning platforms and provide a connected, stimulating environment for local entrepreneurs and business owners to grow.
Shireen Powell, Chief Operating Officer of Isizwe, said, "We are happy to collaborate with Glencore and provide connectivity to people. Our vision is to connect the entire nation, and it is partners like Glencore, who are the true heroes. They enable us to empower African communities."
Our focus for 2021 and beyond is to expand our offering. In collaboration with Project Isizwe, we are identifying new opportunities to empower our communities further.
www.glencore.com/southafrica
Notes for Editors
Glencore is one of the world’s largest global diversified natural resource companies and a major producer and marketer of more than 90 commodities. The Group's operations comprise around 150 mining and metallurgical sites, oil production assets and agricultural facilities.
With a strong footprint in both established and emerging regions for natural resources, Glencore's industrial and marketing activities are supported by a global network of more than 90 offices located in over 50 countries.
Glencore's customers are industrial consumers, such as those in the automotive, steel, power generation, oil and food processing sectors. We also provide financing, logistics and other services to producers and consumers of commodities. Glencore's companies employ around 146,000 people, including contractors.
We began marketing activities in South Africa in 1974, and mining in 1988. Glencore has a strong presence in both the coal and ferroalloy sectors and is a major contributor to the local, provincial, and national economies and have almost 27,000 employees and contractors.
We are a leading producer of thermal coal which is intended for the domestic and export market. Thermal (or “steam”) coal is mainly used in power generation. Our coal operations are located near eMalahleni, Middelburg and Belfast in the Mpumalanga province.
Our ferroalloys business, is one of the world's largest integrated ferrochrome producers. Ferrochrome has anti-corrosive properties and around 80% goes into the production of stainless steel. Our chrome and vanadium operations are located across the mineral-rich Bushveld Complex of South Africa's North West, Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces.
Glencore is proud to be a member of the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights and the International Council on Mining and Metals. We are an active participant in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.
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