Vodacom financed network upgrades in Mpumalanga with a R450 million budget during the 2021/2022 financial year, in a move targeted at increasing participation of locals in the digital economy.
The telco says the investment has helped the region expand connectivity in deep rural areas and townships that had no connectivity before, enabling thousands of people to participate in the digital economy for the first time.
Vodacom announced yesterday that the bulk of the capital expenditure was used to deploy new base station sites, improve network capacity, perform power backup upgrades due to power outages and rollout 5G to accelerate digital inclusion.
Resultantly, the telco says, over 20 new deep rural sites in areas such as Amersfoort and Thuthukani were switched on.
The latest development comes on the back of Vodacom pioneering the first live 5G network in Mpumalanga last year − a move it said would bridge the digital divide between urban and rural areas.
Yesterday, Vodacom revealed the Mpumalanga region had since exceeded its 5G rollout targets by 200%.
“We became the first mobile network to launch 5G in Mpumalanga and continue to accelerate our rollout. This is a full demonstration of our commitment to invest in the latest network technology infrastructure to give our customers access to networks that provide fast speeds,” says Zakhele Jiyane, managing executive for Vodacom Mpumalanga region.
“Data traffic grew by 25% and voice 6% − the highest in Vodacom SA − due to attractive rates and network rollout. As a result, the region became the leader in voice network performance in SA as measured by in-house monthly benchmarking and network net promoter score (NPS).”
Additionally, Jiyane says, Vodacom has been cutting data and voice rates to drive adoption across all its markets, to reduce the cost to communicate, which remains a big issue in the country.
To drive prices down in Mpumalanga, Vodacom says, the region adopted the use of personalised platforms, using a segment of one approach where it provides personalised offers based on customer needs and usage.
“For instance, our Just4U and Just4YouTown platforms have shown a great adoption figure, with such offers as 1GB valid for seven days at R19, a 76% discount, or even 1GB WhatsApp + 500MB FB for only R35, representing the best social offer in the region,” says the telco.
Jiyane adds: “I am delighted with the strides we’ve made as a business to make data prices and smart devices more affordable, truly democratising the access to the internet and leading to a growth of over 18% in the number of smart devices in our region.
“Our customer consideration scores, including NPS, have been on the rise, with customers scoring us better on measures such as value for money, as they see the overall value we provide, from service to network to price.”
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