Memory, a 33-year-old Zimbabwean woman, leans through the metal pillars of the fence at the Bez Valley Clinic in inner city Johannesburg. She says she’s downloading songs; she realised there was a free WiFi spot here when she always saw people congregating at the clinic’s fenceline. “You can download as much as you want,” she says. Passion, 26, from the Congo, is also at the fenceline, and says he’s using Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp.

All over Johannesburg, every day, groups of people congregate near the 84 clinics, fire stations and licensing centres, among other city buildings, where WiFi is available. The crowds are silent, and those gathered are usually all facing in one direction, heads bent over their phones.