Mobile operator MTN Group will launch its 5G commercial network South Africa next week.
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The company is hosting a live event on its YouTube channel on 30 June, it said on Wednesday. The event will be hosted by CEO Godfrey Motsa, chief consumer officer Mapula Bodibe and chief technology & information officer Giovanni Chiarelli.
Last November, Swedish mobile telecoms equipment maker Ericsson announced that it had been selected by MTN South Africa to build its new 5G core mobile and radio network.
At that time Ericsson said 5G commercialisation was planned between 2020 and 2022, with a focus on use cases and applications relevant in the South African context.
Rival Vodacom South Africa launched a commercial 5G network in May, though with limited coverage for now.
Vodacom used a temporary spectrum assignment from communications regulator Icasa to launch the network, though it also has a roaming agreement with Liquid Telecom, which will allow is to continue offering 5G to consumers even if there is a gap between when the temporary spectrum has to be returned and when Icasa concludes a planned spectrum auction.
Rain launched the country’s first commercial 5G network in partnership with China’s Huawei Technologies in 2019.
Users will simply need to have a 5G-enabled device and an LTE SIM card, while prices will be the same as its current LTE SIM card customer prices.
MTN has proactively been modernising its radio network as well as upgrading all elements in the value chain, specifically the transmission and core networks that are an integral part of a 5G network.
In March, the telecommunications regulator had to quickly focus on a spectrum relief plan to meet the demands on networks amid the COVID-19 lockdown.
5G, which is the fifth generation of mobile data technologies, is said to be about 10 times faster than 4G and 100 times faster than 3G. South Africa has hailed the prospects of 5G mobile technology and what it could bring in terms of economic growth and advancement for years.
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