Pan-African telecommunications service provider Internet Solutions (IS) and Rain are partnering to offer commercial LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) to local Internet service providers (ISPs).
Last week, Wireless Business Solutions (WBS) rebranded as Rain and said it planned to invest "billions" of rands to expand its LTE-A network in SA. This after the company last September announced it was building the network using existing sites and facilities leased from independent tower companies and other telecommunications networks.
Under the newly announced partnership, IS will act as Rain's "open access" go-to-market partner for its fixed LTE-A product.
"As we invest in the significant undertaking of deploying a new national LTE-A network, we've partnered with Internet Solutions to deliver our fixed wireless broadband service, 'Rain to the Home' (RttH), as a fibre or DSL alternative. We call this 'fibre in the sky'," says Rain CEO Duncan Simpson-Craib.
The Rain LTE-A network already extends across SA's major centres and metropolitan areas, and currently has 750 active base stations. The company is on target to reach 2 000 sites by the end of the year and expects to increase its footprint to 5 000 base stations by 2018, and ultimately grow to 10 000 sites over time.
IS says where there is high-density mobile coverage, LTE-A offers ISPs and their customers distinct advantages over a wired network like ADSL or fibre.
"As network coverage improves and gigabit LTE becomes a reality, mobile broadband is increasingly an attractive alternative to traditional broadband connectivity," IS says in a statement.
Rain is ready to roll out future wireless technologies like LTE Advanced Pro and 5G when they become available in the coming years.
"As we progress beyond 3G and 4G, there is increasing potential for mobile connectivity to profoundly change how we work, communicate and socialise," says Saki Missaikos, MD of Internet Solutions.
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