by AKANI CHAUKE
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – MTN has achieved a record 98 percent network availability in Limpopo as its modernisation programme gathers momentum.
Eleven rural sites in remote villages that never had network connectivity are now connected to MTN’s network, ensuring they can access the world of digital opportunities, from banking, to education, news and entertainment.
MTN said it was committed to expanding its network to underserved communities and aims to achieve 95 percent broadband coverage by 2025.
“We are working on building twelve new sites in Limpopo and enhancing 80 sites through modernisation, layer upgrades and sectorisation to further expand coverage in the province,” said Isaac Monama, Acting
Regional General Manager at MTN SA.
He said that rural and farming communities have benefited greatly in terms of connectivity and security as the network availability has been enhanced during load shedding and power outages periods.
“Uncovered communities – predominantly rural and sparsely populated – are our key focus right now and I’m pleased that we are making significant progress in closing these access gaps in the region,” said Monama.
He said cities comprising Monama, Polokwane, Giyani, and Tzaneen are other towns that have benefitted immensely from the resilience programme, especially from a speed perspective.
Overall network availability has improved by 27,18 percent since the start of the resilience programme compared to last year. Sites with resilience have a network availability of greater than 97 percent under stage 4 load shedding.
In 2023, 56 5G sites were activated in Limpopo. In 2024, the plan is to add 60 5G sites to the network. Meanwhile, 4G population coverage is as high as 99,41 percent.
While the challenge of load shedding has abated for now, theft and damage at sites remain of concern, with 160 vandalism incidents occurring in the Limpopo in the first quarter of 2024.
– CAJ News