Vodacom has become the first network in South Africa to offer LTE services to all its customers, having been the first operator to launch commercial LTE services in South Africa in October last year.
The service was initially available to contract customers, but with increased LTE coverage and a much wider range of devices now available, LTE services have now also been made available to Prepaid and Top Up customers.
Vodacom CEO Shameel Joosub said: “We’ve now got approaching 600 live LTE sites covering Johannesburg, Cape Town, Pretoria and Durban. Another 400 are planned by the end of the year. This is the culmination of a massive investment in high speed fibre transmission and an overhaul of our radio network countrywide.”
He added: “We want everyone to have access to the latest technology and fastest mobile connection, so there’s no additional charge for LTE. All you’ll need is a 64kb or higher SIM card and a compatible device.”
The operator is investing more than R6 billion per year in South Africa, adding to its network of 3G base stations as well as building LTE coverage. At current rates, the number of 3G base stations is growing at around 25% per year.
