Nigerian universities will be boosted academically with the introduction of free internet access on campus, as Cyberspace Network Limited has made available wifi access for all through its Surwella initiative.
This comes at a time access to the internet has become the most significant tool in educational development, especially as technology is taking over almost all sectors of the economy.
According to Olusola Bankole, chief marketing officer, Surfwella, the free internet wifi will be launched across the length and breadth of university campuses in Nigeria, starting with the University of Abuja, from today, Wednesday 9, August 2017.
Bankole said this at a press conference Tuesday in Lagos, saying the firm was building and would soon unveil the internet infrastructure it had been working on for the use of the university communities.
The service will be free, “no payment, no subscription, no data purchase, and no need for modems. Free internet in the most useable form, on wifi,” he stated.
Speaking about the company’s plans to sustain delivery of wifi services to universities, he disclosed that plans were ongoing to build another free internet infrastructure for Lagos State University (LASU). “This should be complete within the next few weeks, followed in quick succession by College of Agric, Lafiaji, and University of Lagos (UNILAG),” he said.
Information Technology (IT) industry stakeholders have commended the corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative of the company, saying that it will definitely improve Nigeria’s tertiary education system by providing the students with access to advanced knowledge available on the internet for free.
Speaking about this new development, Subomi Sodipo, CEO, CFmobile, told BusinessDay that: “We live in a global world and students should not be limited to learning only within the four walls of a classroom. Technology advancement has made everything much more accessible and this is an advantage for today’s students. I just hope that Surfwella can sustain its offer for a very long time to encourage other internet service providers to do the same.”
While urging Nigerians to watch out for more innovation and solutions coming from Cyberspace Limited, Bankole said the company was living up to its name and mission to build and provide the right infrastructure to the business world that would make it easier to do business, and to be globally focused.
“This initiative is all about empowering the students to be globally competitive, and access to free Internet is the best way to empower the budding on-coming Generation-Z,” he said.
