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South Africa: MTN upgrades network capacity for festive season

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South Africa: MTN upgrades network capacity for festive season
South Africa: MTN upgrades network capacity for festive season. (image credit: Wikipedia)

MTN has announced that it will be boosting network capacity in tourist hotspots, high traffic rural areas and along major freeways in South Africa.

“Our second to none network offers our customers a fantastic experience and we want to make sure we maintain that experience, even where we see huge peaks of holiday activity, along major routes and coastal towns,“ said Jacqui O’Sullivan, Executive for Corporate Affairs: MTN SA.


“We are constantly monitoring our network performance to ensure stable and seamless connectivity. Senior management and regional staff are on standby to quickly attend to any technical issues as our priority is keeping all our customers connected to the brightest holiday possible.” O’Sullivan said.

The multi-pronged network optimisation programme includes the rollout of new base stations and technology upgrades on selected 3G and LTE stations, even in the most remote areas that have previously lacked connectivity. MTN will also keep track of large New Year’s Eve events and where required, will add mobile base stations to reduce the midnight congestion.

While the N1 and N2 are covered by 3G coverage, MTN has also installed LTE coverage at major stopping points to provide throughput and capacity for users with high data demands.

Rural coverage
MTN has maximised capacity provisioning on its network in Madadeni, Mount Fletcher, Emondlo, Bizana, Phuthaditjaba, Jozini, Eshowe and Esikhawini to cater to the holiday population.

“The mobile base stations will provide added capacity in areas where the installation of permanent sites will not be completed in time for the holidays, or where permanent structures are not consistently required,” O’Sullivan said.

MTN is also undertaking network upgrades that will provide LTE coverage from St Lucia all the way to the Wild Coast.

Additionally, MTN has expanded LTE coverage from St Lucia down to the Wild Coast. MTN customers in the central business district and surrounding areas will also experience 50% additional capacity and throughput speeds of up to 70Mbps on the LTE network, while 3G capacity in Umhlanga will be boosted to improve indoor coverage.

Gauteng, Limpopo, North West and Mpumalanga
Gauteng Limpopo, the North West and Mpumalanga are also receiving ongoing network boosts to ensure subscribers have a seamless network experience during the holiday season. Network upgrades are being undertaken on approximately 200 LTE sites and over 100 3G sites upgrades in Limpopo, Mpumalanga and Rustenburg.

Eastern Cape
MTN has also earmarked a number of tourist hotspots and rural settlements in the Eastern Cape for improved network capacity these holidays. An LTE site has been activated in Mthatha just in time for the holidays, while an additional three 3G sites will be activated this month to provide quality coverage and capacity. The township of Mdantsane has been identified as an area that requires two additional sites to ensure seamless LTE coverage. Tourist areas like George, Knysna, Mossel Bay, Plettenburg Bay and Port Elizabeth will also receive additional LTE coverage during this time.

Western Cape
In the Western Cape, popular holiday destinations such as Langebaan, Saldanha, Hermanus, Stillbaai, Arniston and St Helena Bay will benefit from MTN’s contiguous 3G and LTE coverage. Improved coverage will not only be limited to these areas, but it will also be available from Blouberg to the Cape Town central business district, the Waterfront and along the Atlantic Seaboard to Hout Bay.

To further enhance capacity, MTN will also install three mobile base stations at Veldrif, Langebaan and Yzerfontein. The rollout of additional mobile stations will be informed by traffic analysis in these areas.

MTN expects the network upgrades to result in a 75 percent enhancement in LTE coverage in these areas. This is because the Western Cape has the highest LTE device penetration.

“The network upgrades will enable MTN customers to stay connected while they visit their families and take a well-earned break this festive season. The improvements provide them with the world-class network experience they have become accustomed to in metropolitan areas. We are constantly enhancing our network, improving the quality, the data speeds and our reach across the country. These holiday boosts will help make sure that quality experience stays in place, no matter where our customers travel,” O’Sullivan said.

Edited by Fundisiwe Maseko
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