Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      MultiChoice is working on a wholesale overhaul of DStv

      10 July 2025

      Spam call epidemic: operators say their hands are tied

      10 July 2025

      Britehouse unit breaks free from NTT Data

      10 July 2025

      Samsung’s bet on folding phones faces major test

      10 July 2025

      OpenAI to launch web browser in direct challenge to Google Chrome

      10 July 2025
    • World

      Grok 4 arrives with bold claims and fresh controversy

      10 July 2025

      Bitcoin pushes higher into record territory

      10 July 2025

      Cupertino vs Brussels: Apple challenges Big Tech crackdown

      7 July 2025

      Grammarly acquires e-mail start-up Superhuman

      1 July 2025

      Apple considers ditching its own AI in Siri overhaul

      1 July 2025
    • In-depth

      Siemens is battling Big Tech for AI supremacy in factories

      24 June 2025

      The algorithm will sing now: why musicians should be worried about AI

      20 June 2025

      Meta bets $72-billion on AI – and investors love it

      17 June 2025

      MultiChoice may unbundle SuperSport from DStv

      12 June 2025

      Grok promised bias-free chat. Then came the edits

      2 June 2025
    • TCS

      TCS | Connecting Saffas – Renier Lombard on The Lekker Network

      7 July 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E4: Takealot’s big Post Office jobs plan

      4 July 2025

      TCS | Tech, townships and tenacity: Spar’s plan to win with Spar2U

      3 July 2025

      TCS+ | First Distribution on the latest and greatest cloud technologies

      27 June 2025

      TCS+ | First Distribution on data governance in hybrid cloud environments

      27 June 2025
    • Opinion

      In defence of equity alternatives for BEE

      30 June 2025

      E-commerce in ICT distribution: enabler or disruptor?

      30 June 2025

      South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

      17 June 2025

      AI and the future of ICT distribution

      16 June 2025

      Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

      13 June 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CambriLearn
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SevenC
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » News » Cell C, MTN, Vodacom in new LTE-U tests

    Cell C, MTN, Vodacom in new LTE-U tests

    By Staff Reporter18 May 2016
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp

    Who has the biggest peni... err, fastest network?

    You’d think they are about to launch the next big thing in mobile broadband, the way South Africa’s mobile operators are going on about LTU-Unlicensed technology.

    Vodacom, MTN and Cell C have also clamoured for the headlines in recent days as they try to outdo each other over the speeds they have managed to achieve in trials of LTE-U — even though consumers aren’t able to take advantage of the technology as there are no supported modems or handsets in the market and won’t be for some time.

    Two days after Vodacom used the sidelines of its annual results presentation in Midrand on Monday to demonstrate what can be achieved with LTE-U — a technology that uses both licensed and unlicensed spectrum bands to boost throughput — MTN and Cell C on Wednesday both issued media releases about what they’ve been able to achieve in their controlled test environments.

    Cell C was first out of the gate, announcing that it had achieved speeds of more than 600Mbit/s at its LTE-U test site.

    Using a pre-commercial device, Cell C harnessed 15MHz of its licensed spectrum in 2,1GHz and two 20MHz chunks of spectrum in the 5,8GHz Wi-Fi band to conduct the test.

    For the technically minded, Cell C used this configuration with high modulation scheme technologies (256QAM) and carrier aggregation of the three frequency bands.

    MTN, meanwhile, which earlier this month said it had tested LTE-U at its flagship store in Morningside in Johannesburg, issued a statement soon after Cell C, saying it had achieved the “fastest indoor mobile data service in South Africa using LTE-Advanced technology”.

    “The service is able to provide customers with data speeds up to an incredible 1Gbit/s, which is the first gigabit per second speed ever recorded in South Africa using a mobile broadband connection,” the company claimed.

    MTN’s tested the LTE-Advanced solution using Huawei’s latest small-cell Lampsite product, which aggregates two unlicensed LTE 5,8GHz carriers (two times 20MHz) with one licensed LTE 2,1GHz carrier (15MHz), and combines this with next generation Mimo and modulation schemes, it said.

    “The success of this LTE-Advanced deployment is a giant leap forward for mobile broadband technology in South Africa, and demonstrates the potential that mobile broadband technologies can achieve if additional spectrum is allocated to mobile network operators,” MTN said in a statement.

    Not to be outdone, within hours of MTN’s media release, Vodacom issued one of its own, saying it, too, had achieved mobile speeds in excess of 1Gbit/s by aggregating both licensed and unlicensed bands in its laboratory on 16 and 17 May.

    “Breaking 1Gbps represents an important milestone for LTE network speeds in South Africa as it shows what can be achieved by combining adequate spectrum with the latest technology,” said Vodacom chief technology officer Andries Delport.

    Vodacom’s laboratory tests were concluded using the latest small cell technology and used a combination of feature enhancements to breach the 1Gbit/s milestone, Delport said.

    For the test, Vodacom aggregated different spectrum bands including one carrier of its own licensed spectrum and two carriers of unlicensed ISM spectrum.

    “Earlier in the week, Vodacom demonstrated speeds exceeding 360Mbit/s using 2×2 Mimo and 64 QAM. By utilising more sophisticated antenna technology and modulation schemes, Vodacom was able to nearly triple these speeds to break the 1Gbit/s barrier,” the company said.  — (c) 2016 NewsCentral Media

    • See also: Vodacom goes live with LTE-U


    Cell C Huawei MTN Vodacom
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleSABC ‘triples’ spending on Gupta media
    Next Article Google Home set to take on Amazon Echo

    Related Posts

    Spam call epidemic: operators say their hands are tied

    10 July 2025

    Vodacom, Maziv deal now looks likely after CompCom U-turn

    8 July 2025

    Huawei South Africa Partners Forum 2025: joining hands for a digital, intelligent future

    8 July 2025
    Company News

    AI in project management: a new era of efficiency and transformation

    10 July 2025

    Samsung unfolds the future with thinnest, lightest Galaxy Z Fold yet

    9 July 2025

    Huawei supercharges South African SMEs with over 20 new eKit products

    9 July 2025
    Opinion

    In defence of equity alternatives for BEE

    30 June 2025

    E-commerce in ICT distribution: enabler or disruptor?

    30 June 2025

    South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

    17 June 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.