from DION HENRICK in Cape Town
Western Cape Bureau
CAPE TOWN, (CAJ News) – VODACOM plans to spend over R500 million (US$29,44 million) into the mobile network in the Western Cape province during the year.
The investment is to grow coverage reach, increase capacity and improve network uptime.
“We have always maintained that the key differentiator for us is the quality, strength and reliability of our networks,” said Carol Hall, Managing Executive for Vodacom Western Cape.
The executive said Vodacom believes investing in the network ensures delivery of best-in-class coverage and customer service to urban, township and rural areas so they are well positioned to take advantage of the digital revolution.
“This is why we are investing more money on the network to deploy more sites in urban, townships and in remote areas which did not previously have network access and continue to deliver exceptional customer experiences for all our customers,” Hall said.
Vodacom’s network investment of more than R1,5 billion in the past three years in the Western Cape has allowed the telco to switch on 38 new sites and upgrade over 75 percent of 1 659 base stations with 4G capacity last year.
“As almost 90 percent of all our data traffic is carried on 4G technology, this amount (R500 million) will also go towards expanding 4G capacity across 530 sites in the region,” Hall explained.
Of last year’s site builds, 16 were in townships, with six built in rural towns and deep rural areas in the province.
The current investment will see a further nine sites added in deep rural areas.
To date, 450 base stations provide coverage to rural areas, with 247 connecting townships in the province.
At present, Vodacom has 49 5G base stations across the region, with plans to triple the footprint this year.
– CAJ News