Vodacom KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) announced yesterday that it is rolling out the fastest and latest, fifth-generation (5G) network in key municipal districts in KwaZulu-Natal province.
In a statement, it says Vodacom customers with 5G-enabled devices, and within a 5G coverage area, are now able to access the new 5G network in KZN.
Critically, says Vodacom, the latest mobile networking technology will ultimately help the region bridge the digital divide between the urban and rural areas of the province by extending access to affordable mobile broadband, especially as an alternative to fibre connectivity in underserviced township areas.
In May, Vodacom switched on its live 5G mobile network in three cities – Johannesburg, Pretoria and Cape Town.
This network supports both mobile and fixed wireless services and is available in Gauteng and Cape Town.
Vodacom says it will accelerate 5G network rollout after additional 5G spectrum is auctioned at the end of March 2021.
To launch the 5G network in KZN, Vodacom used the temporary spectrum assigned by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa, including 1x50MHz in the 3.5GHz, 2x10MHz and 700MHz.
Vodacom has decided to use the 700MHz band for wide-scale mobile, 5G coverage and is supplementing network capacity with 3.5GHz where required.
Vodacom South Africa CEO Balesh Sharma says: “Vodacom now offers the widest 5G network coverage in KwaZulu-Natal and we expect to expand our national 5G footprint significantly once we get access to new spectrum.
“We are confident that the rollout of 5G will help us to bridge South Africa’s digital divide in the long-term by promoting digital inclusion. As a more efficient technology than its predecessors, 5G is designed to more efficiently meet the rapidly increasing connectivity requirements of modern society. The widespread rollout of 5G will support government’s 4IR objectives in future, and will facilitate the creation of an entirely new technologically-enabled world.”
As part of the first phase, the region has deployed 5G in eThekwini, Pietermaritzburg, Howick, Richards Bay, Ntuzuma, Umlazi and KwaMashu. The Vodacom KZN region saw a surge in data traffic from the end of March, with accelerated growth of 40% due to the COVID-19 pandemic, says the company.
It explains that 5G is the newest iteration of global mobile networking standard.
“It promises much higher download and upload speeds, lower latency (the time it takes for a connected service to respond to your command) and far greater capacity, speed and increased coverage,” the telco notes.
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