Vodacom has grown its number of fourth-generation long-term evolution (4G/LTE) base stations to 200 in Johannesburg, from 70 when it launched commercial services last month, and has begun testing the next-generation broadband technology in Cape Town.

The operator’s statement that it is now eyeing Cape Town comes hot on the heels of an announcement by rival Cell C that it intends to target the Mother City with 4G/LTE services on a trial basis from December. Both Vodacom and MTN had said previously that they would focus on Johannesburg, Pretoria and Durban at first.

MTN is yet to launch a commercial 4G/LTE service, saying it wants as many as 500 base stations in place before doing so.

All of SA’s mobile operators, with the exception of Telkom’s 8ta, have been forced to “refarm”, or reallocate, some of their existing spectrum to cater for the next-generation broadband technology. There is no indication yet when spectrum in the key radio frequency bands of 2,6GHz and 800MHz will be made available.

In addition to the wider network coverage, Vodacom says it now has 4G/LTE devices on sale at the shopping centre next to its head office in Midrand and at some of its outlets in Gauteng. The devices have been in short supply.

The company has also begun offering the 4G version of Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S3 smartphone.