Engen to launch free Wi-Fi hotspots at South African filling stations

Engen will launch up to 700 Wi-Fi hotspots over the next few years in South Africa, starting with 32 stations along the country’s main highways before the end of the year.

Engen plans to roll out approximately 700 Wi-Fi hotspots across its network of in the next two years, starting with wider coverage of its highway sites, then extending it to its 1-Plus sites in the urban areas.

Motorists and shoppers must SMS their e-mail address to a five-digit number. They’ll then receive a unique PIN that they can use to access to the service. Each device will allow 30 minutes of free Wi-Fi per day, while Telkom Mobile subscribers get one hour free. Unused minutes can be carried over to the next visit, without having to send another SMS

Engen retail automated innovations manager Mohamed Hassanally says travellers who don’t use their full Wi-Fi time allocation at one service station can use the remaining time at the next station that offers the service.