Vodacom has revealed that it will launch its fourth-generation (4G) mobile broadband network in Johannesburg, Durban and Pretoria later this year. These are the same cities where MTN said earlier this week it would launch 4G.
Like MTN, Vodacom says it won’t offer 4G long-term evolution (LTE) in Cape Town in 2012. Group CEO Shameel Joosub says the reason is that the operator is upgrading equipment in the region, making it difficult to launch 4G there this year.
At the same time, Joosub says the operator will “refarm” some of its spectrum in the 900MHz band away from 2G services to provide 3G. “We are going to do this in a bigger way in SA and in some of the African markets in which we operate,” he says. “It will help us take broadband to rural areas much faster.”
The 900MHz band is better suited to rural areas because of the way in which signals propagate further than they do at higher frequencies.
Joosub adds that 75% of Vodacom’s radio access network has been upgraded to new equipment, meaning it’s ready for 4G/LTE.
“We are building transmission at the back-end,” he says. “When we launch LTE, it must be a good experience. We are moving away from Telkom transmission to our own transmission, giving us better quality with fewer dropped calls.” — (c) 2012 NewsCentral Media