MTN is making significant headway in ensuring more people in SA benefit from the modern, connected world. The planned network investment in the in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and North West areas, for the 2021 financial year of R350-million, is aimed at modernising, upgrading, building new sites and transmission links.
“We want to bridge the digital divide and create exciting opportunities for communities, businesses and individual users. Our investment is therefore far more than achieving market share growth in the region – it is about bringing the benefits of the digital world to more people through a stable, secure and innovative network experience,” says Kagiso Moncho, MTN GM: northern region.
“We are already seeing active data users and traffic increase as more consumers seek affordable, innovative and reliable digital services and solutions. The key for us is to deliver network excellence and an enterprise turnaround. This will be underpinned by modernisation and rollout of 5G, together with price competitiveness,” says Moncho.
Maintaining network quality remains the key objective despite challenges, like battery theft.
“MTN is making strides with its 5G technology rollout strategy. We have already activated 5G in greater Polokwane and Witbank, and intend to expand the 5G coverage footprint further across the region, into areas such as Nelspruit and Middelburg. Added to this is that 93% of towers in the Northern Region have LTE,” Moncho adds.
“We are committed to ensuring our network coverage and quality is maintained and expanded so our customers stay connected. This is even more critical in the face of the pandemic and subsequent lockdown, connectivity is essential for medical emergencies as well as for learners and individuals working from home.”
While battery theft and vandalism remain a challenge, MTN has earmarked part of the investment for battery replacement and security programmes in the northern region.
“Vandalism of the network infrastructure remains a pain point and hinders the great progress we have made in stabilising and improving network availability. These vandalism incidents affect the economy negatively and the interruptions due to network outages hinder emergency and security services. Unfortunately, Limpopo province is one of the hotspots.
“We plead with the members of the community to report any vandalism incidents that they might witness to the nearest SAPS branches. Our efforts are directed towards building and maintaining a resilient infrastructure amidst adversities. We remain committed to proving a modern connected digital life for all,” says Moncho.