Vodacoms investment of more than R1 billion over two years is part of the companys long-term vision to have the widest and most reliable network accessible to all South Africans, irrespective of where they live.
In a recent survey by MyBroadband Insights, MTN was voted the best network with a quality score of 9,87. Vodacom was the second best network with quality score of 8,85. Clearly the race is on!
The bulk of the expenditure will go towards modernising network infrastructure, followed by deploying new network sites, rolling out the 5G network and launching new LTE coverage, using the allotted spectrum from ICASA. This rollout will enable better connectivity and improved network speeds for the end user.
The region plans to focus this investment on the three bays of the Eastern Cape footprint. Bridging the digital divide between urban and rural areas of the province, this includes Lower Bay (Gqeberha to Makhanda and the Port Alfred area), Central Bay (sites along the N10 and surroundings) and Upper Bay (Qonce and Monti up to the Kei Mouth area).
Zakhele Jiyane, managing executive for Vodacom in the Eastern Cape region, says: Our approach is to first build on our infrastructure to ensure that we can unlock the many opportunities afforded by the latest technology, such as 5G, and deliver a quality network experience for all our customers. In some areas of the province, this investment will bring connectivity to communities for the first time, driving our ambition of empowering people in an inclusive digital society. One of the big focus areas for the region this financial year is to deploy more sites in deep rural areas of the Eastern Cape. Many individuals in South Africas remote, deep rural areas lack internet access, which prevents them from taking advantage of the socio-economic advantages of connectivity. The COVID-19 pandemic brought the effects of the digital divide to light in dramatic ways as people without broadband were unable to work from home, attend classes or receive healthcare services. Deployment of the new base station sites in deep rural areas of the province will close the digital divide and enable hundreds of thousands of people in these villages to be part of the digital economy and reap associated socio-economic benefits.
