Bell said there are big opportunities for Wananchi Group in using unmetered Wi-Fi for mobile data services when a user is away from home. "The African region has always been ahead with mobile data services, and the rapid uptake of newer affordable and tablets keeps driving up the demand for data capacity on the move," Bell said in a statement.

Euan Guttridge, Google's technical program manager for emerging markets in sub-Saharan Africa, said in a statement that Wazi Wi-Fi is part of Google's broader goal in Africa, which he described as "to get more users online, to reduce Internet access barriers and to develop a vibrant Internet environment ... Bit by bit, the Web in Africa is helping to transform communications and open up new economic opportunities."

Matt Hamblen covers mobile and wireless, smartphones and other handhelds, and wireless networking for Computerworld. Follow Matt on Twitter at or subscribe to . His e-mail address is .

in Computerworld's Wireless Internet Topic Center.