by TINTSWALO BALOYI
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – UMLAUT, an independent global benchmarking organisation, has granted MTN its “Best In Test” certification, cementing MTN’s position as South Africa’s best network.
The accolade follows a testing process covering more than 644 984 km2 of the country based on crowd-sourced data and additional drive test measurements over a distance of 8 582km.
Umlaut analysed South Africa’s mobile networks with regards to mobile network performance; measuring smartphone, voice, and data performance based on extensive drive-tests from major metropolitan areas to smaller cities and connection roads.
Done between September and October of 2024 in metropolitan and rural areas across South Africa, umlaut tested and measured the performance of South African network operators’ voice and data services on smartphones, with MTN coming out tops across all benchmarks.
Dedicated measurements were executed as drive tests outdoors using a Samsung Galaxy S23+.
All data measurements were performed in 5G-preferred mode with voice measurements also done in 5G-to-5G-preferred mode on both sides, while call origin was alternated.
In addition to physical drive testing within the network, the evaluation criteria for benchmarking the “Best in Crowd-Sourced Quality” certification also included crowd-sourced data gathered from thousands of devices from April to September 2024.
“The recognition of the quality and reliability of the MTN network by umlaut, the global standard in benchmarking network quality, is testament to the investment that MTN South Africa has put into leading the charge in bringing modern, connected living to every South African not just this year, but these past 30 years,” Rami Farah, MTN SA’s Executive for Network.
In 2023, MTN invested over R10,1 billion towards network and IT infrastructure and an additional R9,7 billion in 2024.
In addition to the overall ‘Best In Test’ certification, MTN SA also won all sub-categories being ‘Best In Data,’ ‘Best In Voice,’ “Best in Crowd-Sourced Quality,’ and ‘Best in Reliability’ according to Umlaut.
MTN’s 5G network now covers 44 percent of South Africa, an increase from 35 percent at the start of the year.
MTN has also been recognised as the best overall network in South Africa for the 3rd quarter of 2024 by MyBroadband’s Mobile Network Quality Report.
– CAJ News