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117-957: South African wireless community networks are wireless networks that allow members to talk, send messages, share files and play games independent of the commercial landline and mobile telephone networks. Most of them use WiFi technology and many are wireless mesh networks . A wireless community network may connect to the public switched telephone network and/or the Internet , but there are various restrictions on connectivity in South Africa . Wireless community networks are particularly useful in areas where commercial telecommunications services are unavailable or unaffordable. Wireless User Groups (WUGs) in South African cities build up infrastructure and applications, as well as training members in wireless technology skills. Therefore, WUGs provide
234-408: A router . The telecommunications network at the physical layer also consists of many interconnected wireline network elements (NEs). These NEs can be stand-alone systems or products that are either supplied by a single manufacturer or are assembled by the service provider (user) or system integrator with parts from several different manufacturers. Wireless NEs are the products and devices used by
351-430: A central wireless internet connection. Dabba (and other companies with a similar model) will provide advice to wireless community network owners and connectivity to the outside world. The technology has been tested and several manufacturers are showing interest in building the devices. The Village Telco concept may have potential in many other countries outside South Africa. Wireless networks A wireless network
468-460: A citywide network. CTWUG has over 1500 user sites all around Cape Town - spanning all the way from Houtbay to Stellenbosch and into the Helderberg. CTWUG is a non-profit organisation that is geared towards community based wireless networking with a focus to promote the use and understanding of wireless equipment in order to build a citywide free wireless network. The building of this network forms
585-536: A destination for visitors and a safe, integrated community for residents. A beacon of strength in Africa's most economically prosperous city". After being destroyed in 2008 to make way for a motor showroom by Imperial Holdings, the iconic Rand Steam Laundries are now being redeveloped as an exact replica, by the order of the Johannesburg Heritage Council. Apart from one filtration shed, there
702-471: A directional antenna is in use, whether nodes employ power control and so on. Cellular wireless networks generally have good capacity, due to their use of directional aerials, and their ability to reuse radio channels in non-adjacent cells. Additionally, cells can be made very small using low power transmitters this is used in cities to give network capacity that scales linearly with population density. Wireless access points are also often close to humans, but
819-500: A fertile ground for new technology and applications that may have large social benefits in informal communities and rural areas of South Africa and neighboring countries. South Africa has the best developed and most modern telephone system in Africa . There are almost 110 combined fixed-line and cellular telephones per 100 persons. There are 5.1 million Internet users. The network is 99.9% digital. The fixed-line monopoly of Telkom SA ,
936-837: A large number of portable transceivers (e.g., mobile phones, pagers , etc.) to communicate with each other and with fixed transceivers and telephones anywhere in the network, via base stations, even if some of the transceivers are moving through more than one cell during transmission. Although originally intended for cell phones, with the development of smartphones , cellular telephone networks routinely carry data in addition to telephone conversations: Private LTE/5G networks use licensed, shared or unlicensed wireless spectrum thanks to LTE or 5G cellular network base stations, small cells and other radio access network (RAN) infrastructure to transmit voice and data to edge devices (smartphones, embedded modules, routers and gateways. 3GPP defines 5G private networks as non-public networks that typically employ
1053-481: A listed company in which the government is the largest shareholder, expired with the licensing of Neotel as South Africa's second national operator, starting operations in November 2007. Neotel is licensed to provide the entire range of telecoms services with the exception of full mobility. Neotel is expanding their network fast, but so far is concentrating on urban areas. The South African mobile communications market
1170-554: A low cost first mile solution connect people to the internet and each other. The project is testing if a rural community can take ownership of the network, with a trial community-run WUG near the Kruger National Park in the Mpumalanga Province. The project uses "Cantennas" to connect to the wireless mesh network. These are small, self-constructed antennas made from locally available material connected to
1287-716: A low-cost WiFi card plugged into a computer. Although sponsored by the Meraka Institute, the project members state that what they are doing is illegal under current laws. Another project, UWC Telehealth, is testing a system in a remote rural part of the Eastern Cape in South Africa that lets nurses and doctors use a wireless IP-based communication system to conduct patient referrals, request ambulance services and order supplies. The project ran into difficulties at first because Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
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#17327732901091404-478: A mesh topology. Each node forwards messages on behalf of the other nodes and each node performs routing. Ad hoc networks can "self-heal", automatically re-routing around a node that has lost power. Various network layer protocols are needed to realize ad hoc mobile networks, such as Distance Sequenced Distance Vector routing, Associativity-Based Routing , Ad hoc on-demand distance-vector routing , and Dynamic Source Routing . Wireless metropolitan area networks are
1521-649: A much larger network by interconnecting several separate wireless mesh networks . Jawug is not an ISP. Its network is used purely for non-commercial and educational purposes. Jawug is regularly used for experimental deployment of new technologies. There are currently four links which interconnect the Jawug network with PTAWUG, the Wireless User Group in Pretoria , to the north of Johannesburg. Jawug and PTAWUG work together closely - Jawug helped to get PTAWUG off
1638-528: A national figure and a symbol of resistance to apartheid . On 16 June 1976, demonstrations broke out in Soweto over a government decree that black school-children be educated in Afrikaans instead of English, and after the police fired on the demonstrations, rioting against apartheid began in Soweto and spread into the greater Johannesburg area. About 575 people, the majority of whom were black, were killed in
1755-414: A residential area for blacks only—no whites allowed—who were not permitted to live in other "white-designated" areas of Johannesburg. Another region, Lenasia , is predominantly populated by English-speaking Indo-South Africans (people of Indian and South Asian descent). These areas were, in previous decades, designated as non-white areas, in accordance with apartheid policies of the time. Johannesburg
1872-696: A short distance using a wireless distribution method, usually providing a connection through an access point for internet access. The use of spread-spectrum or OFDM technologies may allow users to move around within a local coverage area, and still remain connected to the network. Products using the IEEE 802.11 WLAN standards are marketed under the Wi-Fi brand name. Fixed wireless technology implements point-to-point links between computers or networks at two distant locations, often using dedicated microwave or modulated laser light beams over line of sight paths. It
1989-473: A smaller-scale deployment to meet an organization's needs for reliability, accessibility, and maintainability. Open source private networks are based on a collaborative, community-driven software that relies on peer review and production to use, modify and share the source code. A global area network (GAN) is a network used for supporting mobile across an arbitrary number of wireless LANs, satellite coverage areas, etc. The key challenge in mobile communications
2106-470: A social and interactive community where people with an interest in expanding and improving the network donate time, money and equipment to the group. CTWUG runs many network enhancements, including a GameTime system which stops all bulk traffic during certain hours for gaming and other high-priority network uses. CTWUG puts a lot of priority in making sure the network is usable for as many applications and uses as possible. No monthly or annual fees of any kind
2223-500: A township founded for black workers coming to work in the gold mines of Johannesburg, was intended to house 50,000 people, but soon was the home of ten times that number as thousands of unemployed rural blacks came to Johannesburg for employment and an income to send back to their villages. It was estimated that in 1989, the population of Soweto was equal to that of Johannesburg, if not greater. In March 1960, Johannesburg witnessed widespread demonstrations against apartheid in response to
2340-443: A type of wireless network that connects several wireless LANs. Wireless wide area networks are wireless networks that typically cover large areas, such as between neighboring towns and cities, or city and suburb. These networks can be used to connect branch offices of business or as a public Internet access system. The wireless connections between access points are usually point to point microwave links using parabolic dishes on
2457-479: A wireless carrier to provide support for the backhaul network as well as a mobile switching center (MSC). Reliable wireless service depends on the network elements at the physical layer to be protected against all operational environments and applications (see GR-3171, Generic Requirements for Network Elements Used in Wireless Networks – Physical Layer Criteria ). What are especially important are
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#17327732901092574-444: Is a computer network that uses wireless data connections between network nodes . Wireless networking allows homes, telecommunications networks , and business installations to avoid the costly process of introducing cables into a building, or as a connection between various equipment locations. Admin telecommunications networks are generally implemented and administered using radio communication . This implementation takes place at
2691-559: Is a popular recreational park. Johannesburg and environs also offer various options to visitors wishing to view wildlife , in addition to the Johannesburg Zoo , one of the largest in South Africa. The Lion Park nature reserve, next to Lesedi Cultural Village , is home to over 80 lions and various other game, while the Krugersdorp Nature Reserve , a 1500 ha game reserve , is a forty-minute drive from
2808-416: Is a radio network distributed over land areas called cells, each served by at least one fixed-location transceiver , known as a cell site or base station . In a cellular network, each cell characteristically uses a different set of radio frequencies from all their immediate neighbouring cells to avoid any interference. When joined these cells provide radio coverage over a wide geographic area. This enables
2925-404: Is a smaller number of synagogues serving the city's Reform Jews , including Temple Israel and Beit Emanuel . 32% of Johannesburg residents speak Nguni languages at home, 24% speak Sotho languages , 18% speak English, 7% speak Afrikaans and 6% speak Tshivenda . Johannesburg has a well-developed higher education system of both private and public universities . Johannesburg is served by
3042-405: Is achieved. Now the wireless network has been running on LTE, which is a 4G mobile communication standard. Users of an LTE network should have data speeds that are 10x faster than a 3G network. Space is another characteristic of wireless networking. Wireless networks offer many advantages when it comes to difficult-to-wire areas trying to communicate such as across a street or river, a warehouse on
3159-403: Is also located on Rissik Street. The region surrounding Johannesburg was originally inhabited by San hunter-gatherers who used stone tools. There is evidence that they lived there up to ten centuries ago. Stone-walled ruins of Sotho–Tswana towns and villages are scattered around the parts of the former Transvaal in which Johannesburg is situated. By the mid-18th century, the broader region
3276-457: Is an effective option compared to Ethernet for sharing printers, scanners, and high-speed Internet connections. WLANs help save the cost of installation of cable mediums, save time from physical installation, and also creates mobility for devices connected to the network. Wireless networks are simple and require as few as one single wireless access point connected directly to the Internet via
3393-419: Is another possibility. Precise records for the choice of name were lost. Johannes Rissik and Johannes Joubert were members of a delegation sent to England to obtain mining rights for the area. Joubert had a park in the city named after him, and Rissik has his name for one of the main streets in the city where the historically important albeit dilapidated Rissik Street Post Office is located. The City Hall
3510-630: Is asked for membership and all contributions are completely voluntary. CTWUG maintains good vendor relationships to ensure high quality equipment is used and supplied for all network links. The Durban Wireless Community was founded in December 2004 by a group of people interested in 802.11 a/b/g wireless technology in Durban , the third most populous city in South Africa. The first meeting in January 2005 had 4 attendees. The group now has about 200 people on
3627-629: Is defined by a standard that describes unique functions at both the Physical and the Data Link layers of the OSI model . These standards differ in their specified signaling methods, geographic ranges, and frequency usages, among other things. Such differences can make certain technologies better suited to home networks and others better suited to network larger organizations." Each standard varies in geographical range, thus making one standard more ideal than
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3744-546: Is generally within a person's reach. For example, both Bluetooth radio and invisible infrared light provides a WPAN for interconnecting a headset to a laptop. Zigbee also supports WPAN applications. Wi-Fi PANs are becoming commonplace (2010) as equipment designers start to integrate Wi-Fi into a variety of consumer electronic devices. Intel "My WiFi" and Windows 7 "virtual Wi-Fi" capabilities have made Wi-Fi PANs simpler and easier to set up and configure. A wireless local area network (WLAN) links two or more devices over
3861-532: Is growing fast. The country's three cellular network operators ( Vodacom , MTN and Cell C ) have over 39-million subscribers, or nearly 80% of the population. However, although there are now over one million broadband subscribers, mostly using ADSL or HSDPA , bandwidth remains relatively limited and expensive. Major cities such as Cape Town , Durban , Johannesburg and Pretoria have launched public-private initiatives to build their own broadband networks to provide cheaper voice and data services. For example,
3978-597: Is handing off user communications from one local coverage area to the next. In IEEE Project 802, this involves a succession of terrestrial wireless LANs . Space networks are networks used for communication between spacecraft, usually in the vicinity of the Earth. The example of this is NASA's Space Network . Some examples of usage include cellular phones which are part of everyday wireless networks, allowing easy personal communications. Another example, Intercontinental network systems, use radio satellites to communicate across
4095-475: Is located within the mineral-rich Witwatersrand hills, the epicentre of the international-scale mineral, gold and (specifically) diamond trade. Johannesburg was established in 1886, following the discovery of gold, on what had been a farm. Due to the extremely large gold deposits found along the Witwatersrand , within ten years, the population had grown to over 100,000 inhabitants. A separate city from
4212-485: Is nothing left on the site after being destroyed. The site will consist of a 5,000 m (54,000 sq ft) precinct. On 12 May 2008, a series of riots started in the township of Alexandra , in the north-eastern part of Johannesburg, when locals attacked migrants from Mozambique , Malawi and Zimbabwe , killing two people and injuring 40 others. These riots sparked the xenophobic attacks of 2008. The 2019 Johannesburg riots were similar in nature and origin to
4329-417: Is often used in cities to connect networks in two or more buildings without installing a wired link. To connect to Wi-Fi using a mobile device, one can use a device like a wireless router or the private hotspot capability of another mobile device. A wireless ad hoc network, also known as a wireless mesh network or mobile ad hoc network (MANET), is a wireless network made up of radio nodes organized in
4446-516: Is providing affordable telephone service in Orange Farm through wireless mesh technology. Dabba has installed several wireless routers that relay signals to an internet connection in a local community centre. Anyone within range of one of the routers can make phone calls using a Wi-Fi or SIP ( Session Initiation Protocol ) telephone. Calls within the network are free, and Dabba supports low-cost prepaid calls to telephones on other networks. However,
4563-574: Is the most populous city in South Africa with 4,803,262 people, and is classified as a megacity ; it is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world . It is the provincial capital of Gauteng , the wealthiest province in South Africa. Johannesburg is the seat of the Constitutional Court , the highest court in South Africa. Most of the major South African companies and banks have their head offices in Johannesburg. The city
4680-585: Is the principal clerk attached to the office of the surveyor-general Hendrik Dercksen, Christiaan Johannes Joubert , who was a member of the Volksraad and was the Republic's chief of mining. Another was Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger (better known as Paul Kruger ), president of the South African Republic (ZAR) from 1883 to 1900. Johannes Meyer , the first government official in the area
4797-475: Is when a node on one network is unable to send because of co-channel interference from a node that is on a different network. The wireless spectrum is a limited resource and shared by all nodes in the range of its transmitters. Bandwidth allocation becomes complex with multiple participating users. Often users are not aware that advertised numbers (e.g., for IEEE 802.11 equipment or LTE networks) are not their capacity, but shared with all other users and thus
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4914-408: The 2008 xenophobic riots . A completely refurbished Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg hosted the 2010 FIFA World Cup final . From 22 to 24 August 2023, Johannesburg hosted 15th BRICS summit . On 31 August 2023, at least 76 people died when a building caught fire in Johannesburg. The building had been taken over by a gang who were illegally renting it out. Johannesburg is located in
5031-663: The Johannesburg South Africa Temple ( Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ). Most of Johannesburg's estimated 50,000 Jews live in the North Eastern suburbs; Glenhazel , Raedene Estate , Kew , Norwood , Highlands North , Sandringham , Savoy Estate , Waverley , Orchards , Oaklands and Fairmount . There are many Orthodox synagogues in the city including; Great Park Synagogue , Oxford Shul and Doornfontein Synagogue . There
5148-483: The Orange . Most of the springs from which many of these streams emanate are now covered in concrete and canalised, accounting for the fact that the names of early farms in the area often end with "fontein", meaning "spring" in Afrikaans. Braamfontein, Rietfontein, Zevenfontein, Doornfontein, Zandfontein and Randjesfontein are some examples. When the first white settlers reached the area that is now Johannesburg, they noticed
5265-529: The Sharpeville massacre . On 11 July 1963, the South African Police raided a house in the Johannesburg suburb of Rivonia where nine members of the banned African National Congress (ANC) were arrested on charges of planning sabotage. Their arrest led to the famous Rivonia Trial . The nine arrested included one Indo-South African, one coloured, two whites and five blacks, one of whom was
5382-457: The Soweto uprising of 1976. Between 1984 and 1986, South Africa was in turmoil as a series of nationwide protests, strikes and riots took place against apartheid, and the black townships around Johannesburg were scenes of some of the fiercest struggles between the police and anti-apartheid demonstrators. The central area of the city underwent something of a decline in the 1980s and 1990s, due to
5499-452: The 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz band, rather than omnidirectional antennas used with smaller networks. A typical system contains base station gateways, access points and wireless bridging relays. Other configurations are mesh systems where each access point acts as a relay also. When combined with renewable energy systems such as photovoltaic solar panels or wind systems they can be stand-alone systems. A cellular network or mobile network
5616-416: The 2000s ( Edholm's law ). Most of the essential elements of wireless networks are built from MOSFETs, including the mobile transceivers , base station modules, routers , RF power amplifiers , telecommunication circuits , RF circuits , and radio transceivers , in networks such as 2G , 3G , and 4G . Wireless personal area networks (WPANs) connect devices within a relatively small area, that
5733-445: The 21st century, there was light sleet in 2006, as well as snow proper on 27 June 2007 (accumulating up to 10 centimetres or 4 inches in the southern suburbs), 7 August 2012, and 10 July 2023. Regular cold fronts pass over in winter bringing very cold southerly winds but usually clear skies. The annual average rainfall is 713 millimetres (28.1 in), which is mostly concentrated in the summer months. Infrequent showers occur through
5850-516: The Cradle of Humankind together with his partner Johannes Stephanus Minnaar where they first discovered gold in 1881, and which also offered another kind of discovery—the early ancestors of all mankind. Some report Australian George Harrison as the first to make a claim for gold in the area that became Johannesburg, as he found gold on a farm in July 1886. He did not remain in the area. On 3 October 1886
5967-608: The Gatsrand Pass (near Zakariyya Park) on 27 May, north of Vanwyksrust—today's Nancefield, Eldorado Park and Naturena—the next day, culminating in a mass infantry attack on what is now the waterworks ridge in Chiawelo and Senaoane on 29 May. During the Boer war, many African mineworkers left Johannesburg creating a labour shortage, which the mines ameliorated by bringing in labourers from China, especially southern China. After
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#17327732901096084-666: The Matabele, the name given them by the local Sotho–Tswana), set up a kingdom to the northwest of Johannesburg around modern-day Rustenburg. The main Witwatersrand gold reef was discovered in June 1884 on the farm Vogelstruisfontein by Jan Gerritse Bantjes , son of Jan Bantjes , this triggered the Witwatersrand Gold Rush and the founding of Johannesburg in 1886. The discovery of gold rapidly attracted people to
6201-532: The Metropolitan Municipality, the old centre, established in 1886 and given city status in 1928, has been listed in recent censuses as a "main place". As of 2011 , this main place had a population of 957,441 and an area of 334.81 km . Some authors consider the metropolitan area to include most of Gauteng province. The UN 's Population Division in 2016 estimated the metropolitan area population to be 9,616,000. Blacks account for 73% of
6318-491: The NEs that are located on the cell tower to the base station (BS) cabinet. The attachment hardware and the positioning of the antenna and associated closures and cables are required to have adequate strength, robustness, corrosion resistance, and resistance against wind, storms, icing, and other weather conditions. Requirements for individual components, such as hardware, cables, connectors, and closures, shall take into consideration
6435-407: The Wireless User Group. PTAWUG is exclusively funded by donations from the community. Volunteers conduct highsite installation and maintenance in their spare time. PTAWUG is the 5th largest wireless network organization in the world with about 600 member connections (7 October 2009). To avoid rental costs, all highsites are on privately owned properties, mostly in high areas with a good line of sight to
6552-628: The administrative boundary of the municipality . The population of the whole area has been estimated to be variously at 7,860,781 in 2011 by "citypopulation.de",. Johannesburg's suburbs are the product of urban sprawl and are regionalised into north, south, east and west, and they generally have different personalities. Greater Johannesburg consists of more than five hundred suburbs in an area covering more than two hundred square miles (520 square kilometres). Although black Africans can be found throughout Johannesburg and its surrounding area, greater Johannesburg remains highly racially segregated. Within
6669-475: The area, making necessary a name and governmental organisation for the area. Jan, Johan and Johannes were common male names among the Dutch of that time; two men involved in surveying the area for the best location of the city, Christian Johannes Joubert and Johann Rissik, are considered the source of the name by some. Johannes Meyer, the first government official in the area is another possibility. Precise records for
6786-613: The choice of name were lost. Within ten years, the city of Johannesburg included 100,000 people. In September 1884, the Struben brothers discovered the Confidence Reef on the farm Wilgespruit near present-day Roodepoort, which further boosted excitement over gold prospects. The first gold to be crushed on the Witwatersrand was the gold-bearing rock from the Bantjes mine crushed using the Struben brothers stamp machine. News of
6903-482: The city centre. The De Wildt Cheetah Centre in the Magaliesberg runs a successful breeding program for cheetah , wild dog and other endangered species . The Rhino & Lion Nature Reserve, situated in the "Cradle of Humankind" on 1200 ha of "the typical highveld of Gauteng" also runs a breeding programme for endangered species including Bengal tigers, Siberian tigers and the extremely rare white lion . To
7020-447: The city of Tshwane , which includes Pretoria, is testing delivery of broadband Internet and voice services on their new metro-wide fibre-optic network using wireless hot spots to provide ADSL access. In the meantime, the high cost of broadband access has stimulated development of Wireless User Groups. The WUGS are not allowed to sell internet connectivity, since they are non-commercial community networks. Although non-profit and operating in
7137-410: The city with the number growing every year—1.2 million on pavements and sidewalks, and a further 4.8 million in private gardens. City Parks continues to invest in planting trees, particularly those previously disadvantaged areas of Johannesburg which were not positive beneficiaries of apartheid Johannesburg's urban planning. Johannesburg Botanical Garden , located in the suburb of Emmarentia ,
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#17327732901097254-568: The community to provide a broadband network between its members, using inexpensive off-the-shelf (WiFi) radio networking equipment. The network operates in the license-exempt 2.4 GHz frequency spectrum. The Stellenbosch Community Network is a joint project between Stellenbosch University and the Stellenbosch Local Municipality in Western Cape Province , South Africa. Its purpose is to provide
7371-551: The community with wireless access to University and Municipality services. The network is in a pilot phase. It will be operated as an open public network, accessible to anyone with the right equipment. This is an exception to the urban norm described above, namely hobbyists who generally have commercial internet access but want something more. In this case, which is currently located in Ocean View outside Cape Town but intends to expand, most users have no other internet access; also,
7488-1053: The community, social and personal services and 12% are in manufacturing. Only 0.7% work in mining. 53% belong to mainstream Christian churches, 24% are not affiliated with any organised religion, 14% are members of African Independent Churches , 3% are Muslim , 1% are Jewish and 1% are Hindu . There are Muslim mosques, Hindu temples, A Sikh Gurudwara (Sikh Temple) in Sandton and a large number of synagogues. Places of worship in Johannesburg are predominantly Christian churches: Serbian Orthodox Church , Zion Christian Church , Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa , Assemblies of God , Baptist Union of Southern Africa ( Baptist World Alliance ), Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa (NGK) , Methodist Church of Southern Africa ( World Methodist Council ), Anglican Church of Southern Africa ( Anglican Communion ), Presbyterian Church of Africa ( World Communion of Reformed Churches ), Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Johannesburg ( Catholic Church ) and
7605-529: The country. Bokone Telecoms in Polokwane and Amathole Telecoms in the Eastern Cape are experimenting with WiMAX technology to provide service. However, due to relatively high costs and low revenue potential, these initiatives are moving slowly. There is room for more innovative approaches. Currently, VoIP ( Voice over Internet Protocol ) service is allowed only in areas where less than five percent of
7722-421: The course of the winter months. The lowest nighttime minimum temperature ever recorded in Johannesburg is −8.2 °C (17.2 °F), on 13 June 1979. The lowest daytime maximum temperature recorded is 1.5 °C (34.7 °F), on 19 June 1964. According to the 2011 South African National Census , the population of Johannesburg is 4,434,827 people, making it the most populous city in South Africa (it has been
7839-494: The discovery soon reached Kimberley and directors Cecil Rhodes and Sir Joseph Robinson rode up to investigate the rumours for themselves. They were guided to the Bantjes camp with its tents strung out over several kilometres and stayed with Bantjes for two nights. In 1884, they purchased the first pure refined gold from Bantjes for £3,000. Incidentally, Bantjes had from 1881 been operating the Kromdraai Gold Mine in
7956-519: The drop off in power over distance is fast, following the inverse-square law . The position of the United Kingdom 's Health Protection Agency (HPA) is that “...radio frequency (RF) exposures from WiFi are likely to be lower than those from mobile phones". It also saw “...no reason why schools and others should not use WiFi equipment". In October 2007, the HPA launched a new "systematic" study into
8073-517: The eastern plateau area of South Africa known as the Highveld , at an elevation of 1,753 metres (5,751 ft). The former Central Business District is located on the southern side of the prominent ridge called the Witwatersrand (English: White Water's Ridge) and the terrain falls to the north and south. By and large the Witwatersrand marks the watershed between the Limpopo and Vaal rivers as
8190-671: The effects of WiFi networks on behalf of the UK government, in order to calm fears that had appeared in the media in a recent period up to that time". Dr Michael Clark, of the HPA, says published research on mobile phones and masts does not add up to an indictment of WiFi. Johannesburg Johannesburg ( / dʒ oʊ ˈ h æ n ɪ s b ɜːr ɡ / joh- HAN -iss-burg , US also /- ˈ h ɑː n -/ - HAHN - , Afrikaans: [jʊəˈɦanəsbœrχ] ; Zulu and Xhosa : eGoli [ɛˈɡɔːli] ) (colloquially known as Jozi , Joburg , Jo'burg or " The City of Gold ")
8307-453: The future president Nelson Mandela . At their trial, the accused freely admitted that they were guilty of what they were charged with, namely of planning to blow up the hydro-electric system of Johannesburg to shut down the gold mines, but Mandela argued to the court that the ANC had tried non-violent resistance to apartheid and failed, leaving him with no other choice. The trial made Mandela into
8424-408: The glistening rocks on the ridges, running with trickles of water, fed by the streams—giving the area its name, the Witwatersrand, "the ridge of white waters". Another explanation is that the whiteness comes from the quartzite rock, which has a particular sheen to it after rain. The site was not chosen for its streams, however. The main reasons the city was founded where it stands today was because of
8541-452: The gold. Indeed, the city once sat near massive amounts of gold, given that at one point the Witwatersrand gold industry produced forty per cent of the planet's gold. Parks and gardens in Johannesburg are maintained by Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo . City Parks is also responsible for planting the city's many green trees, making Johannesburg one of the 'greenest' cities in the world. It has been estimated that there are six million trees in
8658-508: The government to live separately. Work was considered to be an exception to apartheid in order to keep Johannesburg functioning as South Africa's economic capital. In the 1950s, the government began a policy of building townships for black families (prior to this unskilled workers were asked to work on "single status" in male-only hostels at the mines and had to commute to see their families in whatever province they originated) outside of Johannesburg to provide workers for Johannesburg. Soweto ,
8775-501: The ground. Jawug also gives technical assistance to new wireless users groups like Port Elizabeth Wireless Users Group (PEWUG). A core team of members manage all routing and highsite maintenance. Regular wugmeets are held to discuss network issues and future plans. Jawug has a membership base of approximately 300 locations, and is constantly expanding. The Pretoria WUG was founded on 28 July 2007. The PTAWUG constitution guarantees openness, free participation and equality to all members of
8892-577: The high crime rate and when property speculators directed large amounts of capital into suburban shopping malls, decentralised office parks, and entertainment centres. Sandton City was opened in 1973, followed by Rosebank Mall in 1976, and Eastgate in 1979. During the 1990s, the city faced rapid growth of crime throughout large parts of the city. Some areas of skyscrapers were abandoned, many residents left their homes, and businesses moved out. Some historical buildings in central areas were destroyed by fires that spread relentlessly. Like many cities around
9009-420: The high elevation and its location in the subtropics. Winter is the sunniest time of the year, with mild days and cool nights, dropping to 4.1 °C (39.4 °F) in June and July. The temperature occasionally drops to below freezing at night, causing frost . Snow is a rare occurrence, with snowfall having been experienced in the twentieth century during May 1956, August 1962, June 1964 and September 1981. In
9126-548: The individual user rate is far lower. With increasing demand, the capacity crunch is more and more likely to happen. User-in-the-loop (UIL) may be an alternative solution to ever upgrading to newer technologies for over-provisioning . Shannon's theorem can describe the maximum data rate of any single wireless link, which relates to the bandwidth in hertz and to the noise on the channel. One can greatly increase channel capacity by using MIMO techniques, where multiple aerials or multiple frequencies can exploit multiple paths to
9243-524: The informal leadership of Col Ignatius Ferreira , was located in the Fordsburg dip, possibly because water was available there, and because of the site's proximity to the diggings. Following the establishment of Johannesburg, the area was taken over by the Transvaal government who had it surveyed and named it Ferreira's Township, today the suburb of Ferreirasdorp . The first settlement at Ferreira's Camp
9360-692: The land increased, tensions developed between the Boer –dominated Transvaal government in Pretoria and the British, culminating in the Jameson Raid that ended in fiasco at Doornkop in January 1896. The Second Boer War (1899–1902) saw British forces under Field Marshal Frederick Sleigh Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts, occupy the city on 30 May 1900 after a series of battles to the south-west of its then-limits, near present-day Krugersdorp. Fighting took place at
9477-484: The late 1970s until 1994, Soweto is now part of the Greater Johannesburg metropolitan area. An acronym for "South-Western Townships", Soweto was organised initially as a collection of nondescript settlements on the outskirts of the city, populated mostly by African labourers working in the gold mining industry. Soweto , although eventually incorporated into Johannesburg, had been explicitly separated as
9594-550: The license-exempt spectrums, their legal status is not clear. In October 2007, JAWUG requested clarification on whether it required a radio frequency spectrum and/or ECNS license for its activities. Telkom provides relatively poor voice and internet service in underdeveloped rural areas of South Africa, although it is investigating ways to improve service using wireless technology. The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa has licensed several small telecoms firms to operate regional networks in remote, under-served areas of
9711-439: The mailing list and about 15 live nodes on the network spanning from Bluff to Umbilo, Morningside, Town, Tollgate and Westville. Goals of the non-profit group, which is free to join and open to all, include educating the public about wireless technology, and learning more about the technology. The Durban Wireless Community has close ties to JAWUG. The Potchefstroom Community Network is a non-profit grassroots effort by members of
9828-521: The most populous city in South Africa since at least the 1950s). From the 2001 census, the people live in 1,006,930 formal households, of which 86% have a flush or chemical toilet , and 91% have refuse removed by the municipality at least once a week. 81% of households have access to running water, and 80% use electricity as the main source of energy. 29% of Johannesburg residents stay in informal dwellings. 66% of households are headed by one person. Johannesburg's urban agglomeration spreads well beyond
9945-477: The name Johannesburg was first used. Surveyor Jos de Villiers surveyed Johannesburg's first neighborhood, Randjeslaagte, between 19 October and 3 November that year. Gold was earlier discovered some 400 kilometres (249 miles) to the east of present-day Johannesburg in Barberton . Gold prospectors soon discovered the richer gold reefs of the Witwatersrand offered by Bantjes. The original miners' camp, under
10062-976: The network hosts many resources in its "cloudlet" server/s, such as user-generated video-sharing applications; such local resources are free to use, while access to the wider internet is on the basis of prepaid vouchers. The project is supported by the University of Cape Town . Although the city-based community networks are typically run by hobbyists who may be primarily interested in experimenting with technology and avoiding high broadband charges while playing Internet games, they serve also as test beds for more serious projects and training grounds for wireless network engineers that may benefit projects in poor rural and informal communities. In these communities, wireless mesh networks may have great medical, educational and economic value, giving affordable telephone and internet access when coupled with initiatives such as One Laptop per Child that aim to provide low-cost devices - assuming
10179-598: The next depending on what it is one is trying to accomplish with a wireless network. The performance of wireless networks satisfies a variety of applications such as voice and video. The use of this technology also gives room for expansions, such as from 2G to 3G and, 4G and 5G technologies, which stand for the fourth and fifth generation of cell phone mobile communications standards. As wireless networking has become commonplace, sophistication increases through configuration of network hardware and software, and greater capacity to send and receive larger amounts of data, faster,
10296-702: The north of the city. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, tower blocks (including the Carlton Centre and the Southern Life Centre ) filled the skyline of the central business district. The system of apartheid , a comprehensive system of racial separation was imposed upon South Africa starting in 1948. For its growth, the economy of Johannesburg depended upon hundreds of thousands of skilled white workers imported from Europe and semi- and un-skilled black workers imported from other parts of Southern Africa. Though they worked together they were forced by
10413-615: The northern part of the city is drained by the Jukskei River while the southern part of the city, including most of the Central Business District, is drained by the Klip River . The north and west of the city has undulating hills while the eastern parts are flatter. Johannesburg may not be built on a river or harbour, but its streams contribute to two of southern Africa's mightiest rivers, the Limpopo and
10530-517: The other side of the premises or buildings that are physically separated but operate as one. Wireless networks allow for users to designate a certain space which the network will be able to communicate with other devices through that network. Space is also created in homes as a result of eliminating clutters of wiring. This technology allows for an alternative to installing physical network mediums such as TPs , coaxes , or fiber-optics , which can also be expensive. For homeowners, wireless technology
10647-507: The parts of the former Transvaal province in which Johannesburg is situated. Many Sotho–Tswana towns and villages in the areas around Johannesburg were destroyed and their people driven away during the wars emanating from Zululand during the late 18th and early 19th centuries (the mfecane or difaqane wars), and as a result, an offshoot of the Zulu kingdom, the Ndebele (often referred to as
10764-544: The phones average about $ 100 each and it takes significant technical knowledge and investment to build a network like this, so the model may not work in poorer rural communities. Dabba is now working with the Shuttleworth Foundation , a non-profit South African charitable organization, in the Village telco project to develop an affordable and easy-to-install telephone system for rural communities. The goal
10881-569: The physical level (layer) of the OSI model network structure. Examples of wireless networks include cell phone networks , wireless local area networks (WLANs) , wireless sensor networks, satellite communication networks, and terrestrial microwave networks. The first professional wireless network was developed under the brand ALOHAnet in 1969 at the University of Hawaii and became operational in June 1971. The first commercial wireless network
10998-443: The population have access to a telephone, and WiFi is restricted to use by individuals or organisations within the confines of their own premises. The argument is that low-cost or free VoIP over WiFi would destroy the incentive for commercial network providers to upgrade rural networks. However, several commentators consider that this policy is counter-productive. As discussed later, many wireless community networks deliberately ignore
11115-437: The population, followed by whites at 18%, coloureds at 6% and Asians at 4%. 42% of the population is under the age of 24, while 6% of the population is over 60 years of age. 37% of city residents are unemployed. 91% of the unemployed are Black African. Women comprise 43% of the working population. 19% of economically active adults work in wholesale and retail sectors, 18% in financial, real estate and business services, 17% in
11232-580: The receiver to achieve much higher throughput – by a factor of the product of the frequency and aerial diversity at each end. Under Linux, the Central Regulatory Domain Agent (CRDA) controls the setting of channels. The total network bandwidth depends on how dispersive the medium is (more dispersive medium generally has better total bandwidth because it minimises interference), how many frequencies are available, how noisy those frequencies are, how many aerials are used and whether
11349-419: The receiver, in other cases, particularly with metallic or conductive materials reflection occurs. This can cause dead zones where no reception is available. Aluminium foiled thermal isolation in modern homes can easily reduce indoor mobile signals by 10 dB frequently leading to complaints about the bad reception of long-distance rural cell signals. In multipath fading two or more different routes taken by
11466-434: The regulator continues to remove obstacles to deploying WiFi community networks. The Meraka Institute is a government-backed organization to promote ICT development. The Wireless Africa programme of the Meraka Institute is researching ways to develop sustainable information and communications technology in developing countries. Research follows two tracks: The Peebles Valley mesh project is using wireless mesh networking as
11583-628: The restrictions. Most cities in South Africa have one or more non-profit groups collaborating in running Wireless User Groups. Descriptions of a sample are given below, with information derived from their web sites. Jawug is located in Johannesburg , the largest city in South Africa. Jawug, founded in 2002 by Kieran Murphy, Justin Jonker, Ross Clarke and Steven Carter, was the first wireless user group in South Africa, starting as an experimental network between four students, then quickly expanding into
11700-421: The signal, due to reflections, can cause the signal to cancel out each other at certain locations, and to be stronger in other places ( upfade ). The hidden node problem occurs in some types of network when a node is visible from a wireless access point (AP), but not from other nodes communicating with that AP. This leads to difficulties in medium access control (collisions). The exposed terminal problem
11817-670: The south, 11 kilometres (6.8 miles) from the city centre, is the Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve home to large mammals and hiking trails. Separating Lenasia and the Soweto suburbs is the Olifantsvlei Nature Reserve protected area. Johannesburg is situated on the highveld plateau, and has a subtropical highland climate ( Köppen Cwb ). The city enjoys a sunny climate, with the summer months (October to April) characterised by hot days followed by afternoon thundershowers and cool evenings, and
11934-463: The structure to which they are attached. Compared to wired systems, wireless networks are frequently subject to electromagnetic interference . This can be caused by other networks or other types of equipment that generate radio waves that are within, or close, to the radio bands used for communication. Interference can degrade the signal or cause the system to fail. Some materials cause absorption of electromagnetic waves, preventing it from reaching
12051-506: The surrounding areas. The network has a number of towers, with the other highsites located on tall buildings or at private residences in strategic places. The Pretoria Wireless Project is another community based network in the city, which has been connected to the Pretoria WUG network as of 3 February 2008. The Cape Town Wireless User Group has been around since about 2005 as a small network between friends. Since then it has grown to
12168-499: The war, they were replaced by black workers, but many Chinese stayed on, creating Johannesburg's Chinese community, which during the apartheid era, was not legally classified as "Asian", but as "Coloured". The population in 1904 was 155,642, of whom 83,363 were whites . In 1917, Johannesburg became the headquarters of the Anglo-American Corporation founded by Ernest Oppenheimer which ultimately became one of
12285-412: The winter months (May to September) by dry, sunny days followed by cold nights. Temperatures in Johannesburg are usually fairly mild due to the city's high elevation, with an average maximum daytime temperature in January of 25.6 °C (78.1 °F), dropping to an average maximum of around 16 °C (61 °F) in June. The UV index for Johannesburg in summers is extreme, often reaching 14–16 due to
12402-451: The world's largest corporations, dominating both gold-mining and diamond-mining in South Africa. Major building developments took place in the 1930s, after South Africa went off the gold standard. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Hillbrow went high-rise. In the 1950s and early 1960s, the apartheid government constructed the massive agglomeration of townships that became known as Soweto . New freeways encouraged massive sub urban sprawl to
12519-536: The world, there is an increasing focus on the rejuvenation of the inner city of Johannesburg. One of these initiatives is the Maboneng District located on the south-eastern side of the CBD . Originally a hub for art, it has expanded to include restaurants, entertainment venues and retail stores as well as accommodation and hotels. Maboneng calls itself "a place of inspiration—a creative hub, a place to do business,
12636-459: The world. Emergency services such as the police utilize wireless networks to communicate effectively as well. Individuals and businesses use wireless networks to send and share data rapidly, whether it be in a small office building or across the world. In a general sense, wireless networks offer a vast variety of uses by both business and home users. "Now, the industry accepts a handful of different wireless technologies. Each wireless technology
12753-421: Was a rough and disorganised place, populated by white miners from all continents, African tribesmen were recruited to perform unskilled mine work, African women beer brewers cooked for and sold beer to the black migrant workers, a very large number of European prostitutes, gangsters, impoverished Afrikaners, tradesmen, and the " AmaWasha ", Zulu men who surprisingly dominated laundry work. As the value of control of
12870-459: Was established as a tented camp and which soon reached a population of 3,000 by 1887. The government took over the camp, surveyed it and named it Ferreira's Township. By 1896, Johannesburg was established as a city of over 100,000 inhabitants, one of the fastest growing cities ever. Mines near Johannesburg are among the deepest in the world, with some as deep as 4,000 metres (13,000 ft). Like many late 19th-century mining towns, Johannesburg
12987-486: Was illegal in South Africa, even over the UWC Telehealth network. The regulator removed this restriction, but there are still legislative obstacles to providing Internet access, which the project directors are challenging. This project is a "descendant" of the UWC Telehealth one above, in that UWC applied its learnings to support a more extensive project. After initially providing a local VOIP service, full internet
13104-575: Was largely settled by various Sotho–Tswana communities (one linguistic branch of Bantu-speakers), whose villages, towns, chiefdoms and kingdoms stretched from the Bechuanaland Protectorate (what is now Botswana ) in the west, to present day Lesotho in the south, to the present day Pedi areas of the Limpopo Province . More specifically, the stone-walled ruins of Sotho–Tswana towns and villages are scattered around
13221-479: Was one of the host cities of the official tournament of the 2010 FIFA World Cup including the final . The metropolis is an alpha global city , as listed by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network . In 2019, the population of the city of Johannesburg was 5,635,127, making it the most populous city in South Africa. In the same year, the population of metro Johannesburg's urban agglomeration
13338-466: Was provided as smart phones became more widespread. Starting in Mankosi in the Eastern Cape, Zenzeleni expanded first to Zithulele and at time of writing, is planning further expansion . Orange Farm is an informal settlement of about 300,000 people south of Johannesburg. Most people cannot afford mobile phones, and cannot afford to use the Internet cafes. However Dabba , a telecommunications company,
13455-416: Was put at 8 million. Land area of the municipal city (1,645 km or 635 sq mi) is large in comparison with those of other major cities, resulting in a moderate population density of 2,364 per square kilometre (6,120/sq mi). Controversy surrounds the origin of the name. There were quite a number of people with the name "Johannes" who were involved in the early history of the city. Among them
13572-617: Was the WaveLAN product family, developed by NCR in 1986. Advances in MOSFET (MOS transistor) wireless technology enabled the development of digital wireless networks . The wide adoption of RF CMOS ( radio frequency CMOS ), power MOSFET and LDMOS (lateral diffused MOS) devices led to the development and proliferation of digital wireless networks by the 1990s, with further advances in MOSFET technology leading to increasing bandwidth in
13689-416: Was to design a system costing no more than US$ 5000 to get started, which a small-scale local entrepreneur could afford, and which would break even within six months. The project came up with the concept of a "mesh potato", a cheap device (perhaps $ 60 per unit) that can connect a standard analog telephone to the wireless network and also serves as a wireless mesh node, relaying signals from other mesh potatoes to
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