INDUSTRY WATCH
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.
Mobile operator, MTN Group, has
launched its 5G commercial
network in South Africa,
joining rivals Vodacom Group and Rain
in the race to expand fifth generation
technology in the country.
MTN’s launch will see the telco rollout
its next generation 5G network which
is delivering higher peak data speeds,
ultra-low latency, increased reliability and
greater network capacity.
Launched at 100 sites, MTN South
Africa’s 5G network covers areas of
Johannesburg, Cape Town, Bloemfontein
and Port Elizabeth.
Godfrey Motsa, CEO, MTN South Africa,
said: “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.”
MTN South Africa’s 5G introduction
comes on the back of the Independent
Communications Authority of South
Africa’s (ICASA) allocation of temporary
spectrum and is also the culmination of
extensive commercial trials and testing.
Giovanni Chiarelli, Chief Technology
and Information Officer, MTN SA, said
for the past two years the company has
been actively innovating around the
potential of 5G, using different bands
and various vendors and across different
platforms and devices, to ensure MTN
South Africa can maintain leadership in
5G, as it has been able to maintain its
leadership in 4G.
“Our 5G strategy has been years in
the making and we are confident that
we have built a strong foundation to
grow and support our 5G ecosystem to
deliver an exceptional experience for our
customers,” Chiarelli added.
One of the key innovations driving
the broad rollout by MTN has been a
strategic approach to Dynamic Spectrum
Sharing (DSS), as these deployments
overcome the challenges of lack of
dedicated 5G spectrum.
MTN will deliver 5G connectivity on four
different spectral bands:
• 3.5 GHz at 58 sites: This is the ideal
spectrum band for 5G, known as the
“Golden Band” which offers a truly
world-class 5G experience with both
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