Engineering News — December 08, 2017

AN ENGINEERING NEWS | December 8–14, 2017 29

BUSINESS IN THE WESTERN CAPE

D

uring a water crisis, readily availa-

ble technology, such as the Internet

of Things, enabled through WiFi,

can be used to apply water management sys-

tems throughout a city, including monitoring

use, pinpointing leaks and curbing exces-

sive use, says wireless solutions provider

Ruckus.

“Investing in WiFi as the backbone radio

infrastructure can directly provide a solution

for water management through sensor

technology,” says Ruckus Europe, Middle

East and Africa VP Nick Watson.

He suggests that government and busi-

nesses should allocate a budget to WiFi

infrastructure, which could, for instance, con-

tribute to water-starved Cape Town becom-

ing a smart city, assist with crop management

and traffic management, as well as provide

a high-speed, accessible network for public

use.

However, high data rates may limit busi-

nesses from investing in WiFi infrastruc-

ture. “Mobile data rates are quite prohibitive.

Most people can afford the handsets, but

they simply can not afford the connection,”

says Watson.

Watson discussed connectivity and smart

cities at the AfricaCom Conference held

last month at the Cape Town International

Convention Centre. He also addressed the

dangers of a divided society should high

data rates continue – which is problematic,

especially in unequal South Africa – when

he addressed how WiFi can improve a city’s

operations.

Another function WiFi could serve is

providing a platform for parking management

systems, with Watson noting how much worse

the traffic was this year, compared with his

visit last year.

These systems can integrate with the

Google Maps application on phones to

indicate available parking space, which can

mitigate people driving around looking for

parking space, reducing congestion, saving

fuel and lowering pollution.

Watson notes that WiFi can also be used

in a manufacturing environment to reduce

downtime in production plants using video

capturing to enable users to remotely see

where equipment has malfunctioned and,

subsequently, order spare parts.

Further, cold-storage operations can benefit

from using WiFi in that incoming produce

can be monitored, as well as the temperature

at which it should be kept throughout its

journey, which prevents food waste.

Watson says this kind of investment in

WiFi infrastructure is more likely through

public–private partnerships, owing to lack of

government funding, and that more people

are connected through private investment,

which means more people are being exposed

to companies’ advertising online.

“It is not a case of convincing businesses of

the benefits – because people generally know

the capabilities of having a WiFi network –

it is rather a case of encouraging businesses

to reach out and ask for assistance.”

For example, Watson mentions that social

media corporation Facebook has subsidised

a network called Express WiFi, offering a

network to access affordable and high-speed

public Internet, across different locations

in Nigeria. “... the Western Cape could

be making this happen by reaching out to

investors,” he adds.

Several service providers are assessing

the ways through which they can provide

fixed broadband connectivity and wireless

connectivity at an affordable price, and what

kind of business models there are in terms of

funding – through advertising or other means.

Moreover, he points out that large WiFi

networks are becoming more prominent in

Johannesburg, where shopping malls are

having location-based services installed and

WiFi is being provided by mall operators and

tenants, especially because brands want to

access information about shoppers’ habits.

“We are in the early stages of WiFi being

deployed across South Africa and I see

no reason why this will not take off in the

Western Cape in the near future,” Watson

concludes.

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plants need to be commissioned.

Further, Levitas laments that these

desalination plants will require great amounts

of electricity to operate effectively, which the

power generating infrastructure in Cape Town

might not be able to accommodate, possibly

resulting in downtime.

“The city council has been in the process of

realising the plans for the desalination plants

for more than a year. National Treasury only

gave the go ahead a few weeks ago for the

municipality to enter into long-term contracts

with construction companies,” he says, adding

that the governing party in Cape Town has

not properly explained why it has taken so

long to approve the plans.

Levitas also expects resistance from the

public with regard to paying nine times the

price of regular tap water for desalinated

water, which is between R43/m^3 to R49/m^3

of water.

Meanwhile, to cope during the water crisis,

Levitas says farmers are using borehole water

and some are moving crops. For example,

in the Ceres area, well known for growing

onions – water intensive crops – crops have

been moved to other areas in the Western

Cape such as the fruit-growing region of the

Koo Valley, which has not been impacted on

severely by the drought. He adds that some

farmers have switched from growing onions

to blueberries, which require less water and

can grow in difficult weather conditions.

Moreover, other industries, such as

firefighting, are suffering, especially with the

Western Cape entering its fire season. Last

month, Somerset West experienced fires that

could not be extinguished effectively, owing

to the lowering of water pressure to taps and

hydrants to restrict water use.

“A lack of water prohibits the proper

functioning of a modern city, where facilities

such as hospitals and hotels are greatly

reliant on water for their effective operation,”

Levitas points out, adding that businesses in

Cape Town already impacted on by the water

restrictions include fish factories, which need

to wash fish before they can be processed;

shopping centres; car washes; gyms; golf

clubs; laundromats and hair salons.

Water-dependent businesses are scaling

down or closing down completely, he says,

noting that sewage and drainage systems are

also affected.

“Ultimately, manufacturing and tourism in

Cape Town will suffer. For now, we are living

in an artificial reality, continuing normally.

However, come March, with no rains, there

may be a new reality,” concludes Levitas,

alluding to the City of Cape Town’s plans to

shut off water and dole out water at collection

points should this come to pass.

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WiFi can aid

in water crisis

MARLENY ARNOLDI | CREAMER MEDIA REPORTER