UCT welcomes zero-rating decision by Cell C and Telkom

The University of Cape Town (UCT) is very pleased to announce that Cell C and Telkom have both agreed to the university’s request to zero-rate access to certain UCT websites.

The university calls on the remaining two cellphone providers to support this call, which comes not just from UCT but from across the higher education sector. This kind of support is essential to continue teaching and learning online during UCT’s second term, even while the practice of physical distancing continues in order to limit the spread of COVID-19.

This important development will enable UCT students to learn online at no cost via these UCT sites:

• The UCT primary website, reachable at http://www.uct.ac.za or https://www.uct.ac.za;
• The library website, reachable at http://www.lib.uct.ac.za or https://www.lib.uct.ac.za;
• Open UCT, reachable at http://open.uct.ac.za or https://open.uct.ac.za;
• The Vula student platform, reachable at http://vula.uct.ac.za or https://vula.uct.ac.za;
• Lecture streaming (Opencast), reachable at http://media.uct.ac.za or https://media.uct.ac.za; and
• Web authentication (ADFS) (any URL that contains adfs.uct.ac.za).

UCT Vice-Chancellor Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng acknowledged the critical importance of this agreement. “We are so grateful to both Cell C and Telkom for this generous assistance,” Professor Phakeng said. “It allows our students to continue their academic year online, and it allows UCT to provide the best possible support and resources online to students at a time when it is impossible to continue face-to-face teaching.”

Professor Phakeng added: “When the pandemic has passed, South Africa, like the rest of the world, will need to rebuild in many ways. It is urgent that young people in university are able to continue their programmes online, so they can develop the skills they will need to contribute to South Africa’s development. This is why it is so critical that we all work together in this unprecedented crisis, to ensure that education can continue to prepare our young people to take their places in the world.” 

UCT is continuing to engage with other mobile network providers in the hope that a similar arrangement will be reached with them, to benefit not only UCT but the higher education sector.

Issued by: UCT Communication and Marketing Department 13 April 2020

Image: Courtesy of Benjamin Dada | unsplash.com