5G South Africa
MTN Reveals New Plans for its 5G Coverage of South Africa
MTN South Africa has revealed that it is ramping up the rollout of 5G coverage to bring the seamless, fast and cutting-edge experience of the 5th generation network to more South Africans. With over 1,000 active 5G sites across the country currently, MTN aims to have at least 25% of the population covered by the end of 2022. “We want to have 5G connectivity across almost every part of SA. Our aim is to bring the benefits of the Fourth Industrial Revolution to more people in an efficient and cost-effective way. This means expanding our 5G coverage every day, with a strong focus on investment into main metros, peri-urban areas, and larger townships initially,” says Charles Molapisi, MTN SA’s CEO. With speeds 10 times faster than 4G and the potential to be 100 times faster, 5G is changi...
The 5 African Countries That Have Launched 5G Services So Far
Many governments across Africa have been incredibly optimistic about technological advancements being the key to pull Africans from the developing space right into the developed. One of these emerging technologies that have a lot of weight and emphasis pulled behind it is 5G. Certain analysts predict that 5G could add an additional $2.2-trillion to Africa’s economy by 2034. However countries across the continent are struggling to launch the new technology due to either infrastructure challenges, adoption issues, the expensive nature of the technology and the devices needed to utilise it and even safety concerns around 5G. Many African countries are currently testing 5G and a few have successfully launched the technology in a commercial nature. These are the countries currently testing or a...
Benefits & Challenges of Harnessing 5G in South Africa
Fifth-generation (5G) wireless broadband is no longer a future technology – it’s here and is already available in limited key metropolitan areas in South Africa. The country, with its limited Internet access and infrastructure, high data costs and ailing economy, can benefit in multiple ways from 5G. However, there are also some issues that South Africa needs to deal with as communication service providers (CSPs) gear themselves for the 5G era and maximise the value the technology can bring. A recent study by IT services and consulting company Accenture, titled The Future Home in the 5G Era, opens a window into consumer lives in a 5G world and offers a roadmap for service providers to make hyperconnected 5G living a reality when we need it most. Globally, the value of access to information...
ICASA Cancels Spectrum Auction in Attempt to Avoid Lengthy Court Battle
The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), the country’s communications regulator, has announced that it will not be publishing invitations to apply (ITA) to participate in the long-awaited auction of high-demand spectrum in South Africa. ICASA says that the move was made to avoid a lengthy court battle against several litigators that had issues with how ICASA was handling the auction. The regulator is likewise withdrawing an ITA for the licensing of the planned wholesale open-access network (WOAN), pending court approval. “ICASA has now decided to consent to an order setting aside its decision to publish the invitations to apply (ITAs) in order to avoid a long, drawn-out litigation, the effect of which would only be to delay further the licensing of high-demand spec...
5 Reasons Why 5G Makes a Real Difference
Over the last 36 months, 5G has rapidly gained mindshare in society as a vital technology. But not all stakeholders in industries adjacent to the telecom industry understand what makes 5G different from its predecessors. In this post, we describe a set of strategic choices made for previous mobile generations of which we made a single choice. 5G makes it possible to embrace both options, thereby unlocking larger opportunities earlier in the deployment cycle. Here are 5 Reasons Why 5G Makes a Real Difference: 5G is for Both Consumer and Business Users The introduction of 4G was consumer-led, with infrastructure and device technology development centred around smartphones for consumers. Businesses adopted consumer technology through a more visible, bring-your-own-device (BYOD) movement. Inte...
Vodacom SA Launches 5G in Northern Cape with ICASA’s Temporary Spectrum
Vodacom Central Region has become the first network provider to launch a 5G mobile network in Kimberly, Northern Cape province of South Africa. The new 5G network supports both mobile and fixed wireless access services. Customers of the carrier with 5G enabled devices, and within a 5G coverage area, are now able to access the new 5G network in Northern Cape province. In May 2020, Vodacom switched on South Africa’s first live 5G mobile network in three cities – Johannesburg, Pretoria and Cape Town. This network supports both mobile and fixed wireless services and is currently available in Free State, Gauteng, Western Cape, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu Natal provinces. To launch the 5G network in Northern Cape, Vodacom used the temporary spectrum assigned by the Independent Communications...
Why South Africa Needs Fibre to Drive 5G Connectivity
5G is paving the way forward for the connectivity that digital technologies increasingly require, but it offers a lot more than just unprecedented mobile data connection speeds. 5G is capable of handling many more connected devices, has ten times lower latency than 4G, and enables ‘network slicing’ which can prioritise specific users, services, or devices during times of network overload. With all these benefits, it’s no surprise that many people have the misconception that 5G will ultimately replace fibre, when in fact 5G without fibre would not exist. The 5G mobile network is currently being rolled out in South Africa and will still take a few years to become widely available. Even then, 5G networks will not eventually replace fibre optic networks but rather complement them by offering m...
Has South Africa Run with 5G Before it could Walk?
A number of South African telecommunications companies have recently launched local 5G networks. “The decision to introduce 5G means the service provider has determined that there are enough people in one place who are able to pay for super-fast wireless internet. Yes, it is a great technology. It is fast. It is the cream of mobile terrestrial telecoms and it serves the elite few who can afford it,” says Victor Stephanopoli, COO of MzansiSat. When 2G was introduced to South Africa in 1992, 2G networks were the first to offer data services and SMS text messaging. 2G was followed by LTE, which became 3G and which offered faster data transfer and video calling, making it preferable for smartphones. In 2012, 4G was launched in SA, initially only covering small areas in Johannesburg. Stephanopo...
MTN Launches 5G Network – Everything You Need to Know
Image sourced from Pinterest. MTN South Africa has launched its commercial 5G network, providing access to 100 sites across the country. “Today, from MTN’s birthplace of South Africa, we are stepping up our digital revolution with the next generation of telecommunication technology, demonstrating to all South Africans that 5G is no longer just an idea. It is here, it works and it has the capacity to bring about exponential improvements to our economy, and to the lives of the people we serve,” says MTN SA CEO Godfrey Motsa during the company’s live-streamed launch event. The network today covers specific parts of Johannesburg, Cape Town, Bloemfontein, Port Elizabeth, Durban and other smaller towns. “Our 5G strategy has been years in the making and we are confident that we have built a stron...
MTN to Launch its 5G Network Next Week
Sourced from Business Tech MTN South Africa will finally launch its 5G network next week, 30 June 2020, becoming the first of the telecommunications group’s 22 operations to launch the next-generation broadband technology. The pan-African telecom is hosting a live event on its YouTube channel that same day. The event will be hosted by CEO Godfrey Motsa, chief consumer officer Mapula Bodibe and chief technology & information officer Giovanni Chiarelli. [embedded content] At the beginning of the month, MTN began announcing that it would launch 5G networks in major cities across South Africa. The exact locations for these launches have been confidential. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_3b3.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_3b3.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } Initially, MTN had been ...
Why South African Enterprises Will Benefit The Most from 5G Technology
Over the past forty years, the mobile industry has introduced a new generation of technology every decade. The enhanced capabilities introduced by 5G technology are valuable for business because of the potential to directly impact on core operations, unlocking much-needed efficiencies, and enhancing productivity, to an extent that we have not seen before. Key capabilities offer big benefits to business Prior to 5G, mobile technologies were primarily focussed on the individual consumer. The benefits to business have been indirect, particularly across Africa, where the coverage of fixed-line infrastructure could not provide the mass connectivity needed to impact on core operations. 5G was designed with the needs of the enterprise in mind, and its key capabilities — Enhanced Mobile Broadband ...
5G Connections in Sub-Saharan Africa will Reach 28-Million by 2025, Says GSMA
The Global System for Mobile Telecommunications Association (GSMA) has stated that about 28-million devices in Sub-Saharan Africa – representing a total of 2.7% of total mobile connections – will be connected to a 5G network by 2025. Akinwale Goodluck, Head of Sub-Saharan Africa for the GSMA said this during a Huawei online interview. He explained that when 5G eventually comes to Sub-Saharan Africa, it will be more for the enterprise market as opposed to the retail consumer market. “We will see little 5G hotspots in countries like South Africa. I know that some operators have started some of those, but the ultimate goal will be for us to fill up the 4G pipes. Then when 5G comes there will be a sort of limit in terms of wireless roll-outs, but the bottom line is governments need to aggressi...
