The Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Pretoria has become the first tertiary healthcare institution in Africa to offer free WiFi.

The service was officially launched yesterday, the result of a partnership between the Gauteng Department of Health and Nano Solutions and Technologies (Nano S&T). It will not only allow patients and visitors to access WiFi, but also help medical practitioners get faster access to patient’s test results from the National Health Laboratory services.

The Steve Biko Academic Hospital’s emergency area, two coffee shops, pharmacy, waiting and registration facility and main boardroom will be the first areas to be marked as WiFi hotspots in the initial roll-out.

Founder of Nano S&T, Sharon Tshabalala, said that the only restrictions to access will only be placed on pornographic sites.

Nano S&T plans to roll out free WiFi to 40 more hospitals around the country by the end of 2015. 

[Source – The New Age, Image – Shutterstock]