South African multinational mobile telecommunications company MTN said it will spend over ZAR 620 million (USD 42.25 million) in the largest province in the country Northern Cape and the country's judicial capital Free State on network expansion and 5G drive.
According to a press release from Africa's largest mobile network operator, the company will focus on 5G deployment, rural rollout, and underserved areas throughout the provinces while also improving battery theft prevention measures.
Focused on improving network availability, expediting battery resilience, and maintaining throughput excellence across the Free State and Northern Cape, MTN will invest ZAR412m in the Free State and ZAR215m in the Northern Cape in 2022.
The release said that in line with the company’s countrywide Modernisation of Network South Africa (MONZA) project, which aims to modernise existing and deploy new network infrastructure, investments have already been made across 40% of the network in the Free State and 61% in the Northern Cape.
"We are on track to add 21 additional 5G sites across both provinces – to build on the existing 45 in the Free State and 21 in the Northern Cape,” said Sunette Els General Manager of Regional Operations.
According to Sunette, highlights will include more 5G sites in Bloemfontein with better throughput than customers could receive from any other provider, and first-ever 5G sites in Virginia near Welkom, Hopetown, and Dwaalhoek in the Northern Cape.
Overall, MTN SA’s MONZA project has seen just over 68% having been completed nationally. An additional 1,350 sites are set to be finalised during the year, and around 200 top areas are covered across SA.
