Vodacom on Tuesday said it plans to pump R1bn into upgrading its network in Gauteng, which will include expanding 3G in the province’s townships.
The mobile operator said that it will spend more than R1bn in Gauteng in the current financial year expanding its Gauteng network. “Of this amount, a large portion will be used to upgrade and increase Gauteng’s 3G coverage in the major townships. By the end of March 2015 we will add more than 400 new 3G sites,” the company’s managing executive for Gauteng operations, Shane Hibbard, said in a statement.
Areas that will get improved 3G coverage include Soweto, Orange Farm, Alexandra, Thembisa, Mamelodi, Atteridgeville and Soshanguve.
The operator said it is in the process of growing its 4G footprint, too, with about 600 new sites due to go live in Gauteng by April 2015. This will grow LTE coverage from 25% of base stations in the province to 38%.
“The areas we’ll be focusing on increasing LTE coverage are the business hubs and urban areas such as Pretoria, Bryanston and Rosebank as well as in the major townships,” said Hibbard.
“While speed is a key consideration in this technology upgrade, adding capacity is also a major focus,” he added. “Just cutting prices without increasing capacity is a recipe for congestion and unhappy customers.”
Data volumes flowing across Vodacom’s network have grown by about 70% in the past 12 months.
Earlier this year, Vodacom CEO Shameel Joosub announced plans for a 30% increase in investment in the network across South Africa. — © 2014 NewsCentral Media