Vodacom to spend R1 billion on Gauteng network

·19 Aug 2014

Vodacom says it will spend in excess of R1 billion on its network in Gauteng in the current financial year, as it looks to expand its 3G and LTE coverage in the province.

Vodacom announced in July that it had added 293 3G sites, as well as 473 LTE sites across South Africa.

The group added that 74.5% of it’s sites are now connected using self-provided high capacity transmission.

“The additional capacity gives Vodacom the ability to maintain superior network performance even as traffic increases in response to lower prices,” it said.

Shane Hibbard, managing executive for Vodacom’s operations in Gauteng, said: “I’m pleased to announce that in excess of R1 billion has been earmarked for network investment in Gauteng in the current financial year.”

“Of this amount, a large portion will be used to upgrade and increase Gauteng’s 3G coverage in the major townships. By the end of March 2015 we will add more than 400 new 3G sites.”

The upgrade, he said, will increase network capacity and provide improved voice quality and mobile data speeds in areas including Soweto, Orange Farm, Alexandra, Thembisa, Mamelodi, Atteridgeville and Soshanguve.”

Vodacom is also in the process of growing its LTE footprint in the province, with 600 new sites targeted by April 2015, thereby growing coverage from 25% of sites to 38% of sites in the region.

Hibbard said that, with LTE, video and music downloads can be accomplished in a fraction of the time of traditional 3G services. The areas of focus will include the business hubs and urban areas such as Pretoria, Bryanston, Rosebank, and the major townships.

“Just cutting prices without increasing capacity is a recipe for congestion and unhappy customers. To put all of this into perspective, data volumes on our network in South Africa increased around 70% over the last year,” said Hibbard.