Industry sources have told MyBroadband that Vodacom is in talks to buy a stake in VAST Networks.<\/p>\n
The report comes after news that\u00a0VAST Networks, which is owned by Dimension Data and Naspers, is for sale<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n Dimension Data and\u00a0Naspers previously declined to provide comment on the matter.<\/p>\n VAST Networks was established in 2015<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0as a joint venture between Dimension Data and Naspers, which own 51% and 49% respectively.<\/p>\n The company is an open-access Wi-Fi network infrastructure provider, delivering carrier-grade Wi-Fi in Southern Africa.<\/p>\n Vodacom told MyBroadband that it does not comment on speculation, in response to queries on the latest reported deal with VAST.<\/p>\n Unlicensed spectrum<\/strong><\/p>\n A deal between Vodacom and VAST could have multiple benefits for the mobile network operator.<\/p>\n Operators looking to improve their network capacity and performance have been investigating\u00a0LTE in unlicensed spectrum<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n Called LTE-U, it\u00a0makes use of unlicensed spectrum, such as the 5GHz band, to\u00a0improve data performance without requiring a user to log into a separate Wi-Fi network.<\/p>\n A mobile operator using LTE-U needs multiple microcells (similar to Wi-Fi hotspots) using unlicensed spectrum to offload traffic from its sites which use licensed spectrum.<\/p>\n In South Africa, where mobile operators are starved of spectrum, an LTE-U network can be valuable.<\/p>\n Vodacom has already demonstrated the benefits of LTE-U in South Africa, hitting mobile broadband speeds of over 1Gbps<\/strong><\/a> by aggregating spectrum in licensed and unlicensed bands in its laboratory in 2016.<\/p>\n LTE LAA \u2013 an \u201cevolution of LTE-U\u201d \u2013 has also been tested in South Africa, with MTN using\u00a015MHz of 2,100MHz spectrum and 40MHz of 5GHz spectrum to\u00a0achieve a peak downlink throughput of over 400Mbps<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0in April.<\/p>\n
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