THE Korean Government through the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency and Innonet Co. Ltd, an equipment manufacturer based in South Korea is due to hand over more than 24 television white space (TVWS) gateway devices to the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) on November 16.
The devices are envisaged to enable local wireless internet service providers to deploy TVWS broadband networks in rural communities in South Africa. The CSIR is tasked to deploy the equipment for pilot initiatives in rural communities in collaboration with small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs) selected for training by Innonet Co. Ltd. Seven beneficiaries of local SMMEs from Limpopo, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State, and Eastern Cape will be trained and equipped with the necessary skills to operate the devices.
The partnership stems from the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two organisations in September 2023. The MoU outlined their joint efforts to assist ICT-focused beneficiary SMMEs in various areas, including the piloting of TVWS technology, applied research and technology development, localisation of TVWS equipment and software, and manufacturing of telecommunications equipment in South Africa.
