The initiative was motivated by Grade 11 learners from Sinenjongo High School Joe Slovo Park in Cape Town who approached South African network operators in the hope for free mobile access to the web encyclopaedia.
“Access to the internet is essential in this day and age for education, and as the adage goes, knowledge is power,” said Farren Roper, head of FNB Connect ISP and Business Operations.
“Children should be able to access the internet with ease and this is one way which we can help,” he added.
ADSL customers will be able to access Wikipedia from 19:00 to 23:00 daily.
Although the public announcement will only be made tomorrow (Friday), Christine Burrows, spokesperson at FNB, told HumanIPO: “If clients access Wikipedia from today, they will not be billed.”
On top of the newest Wikipedia access, free access to learn.co.za and SA Council of Higher Education University websites is also supplied by FNB Connect.
The goal is to provide research, homework or academic future assistance without extra cost.
Social media is also complimentary for FNB Connect subscribers between 19:00 and 23:00 on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and Pinterest.
