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Vodacom starts 5G services in South Africa to meet high traffic demand

Date: May 05, 2020 Nandita Bhardwaj Nandita Bhardwaj
Vodacom starts 5G services in South Africa to meet high traffic demand 
In a bid to expand 5G services in Africa, Vodacom Group- a subsidiary of mobile operator firm Vodafone Group operating in South Africa, has reportedly switched on 5G services in three South African cities and will gradually expand to the other parts of the country.



Apparently, the distribution of 5G solutions will help Vodacom meet the 40% rise in mobile traffic demand. Moreover, the company has observed a 250% increase in fixed network traffic, especially during the five-week nationwide lockdown.



In a statement by the company, the telecom regulator in South Africa provided Vodacom additional spectrum to tackle the coronavirus outbreak which has been used to accelerate the launch of 5G services.



According to Shameel Joosub, CEO, Vodacom, the company aimed at offering 5G services in South Africa this year by deploying network developed by Liquid Telecom- another prominent telecom provider in Africa.



He further states that the allocation of temporary spectrum by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa has helped in tackling the network congestion issues experienced during the beginning of the lockdown period.



With people staying indoors and working from home, there has been an unprecedented rise in online activities ranging from video conferencing to online streaming services.



For the record, the three South African cities where Vodacom is extending its 5G that will support both fixed wireless and mobile services include Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Pretoria.



Citing reliable sources, the 5G spectrum is unassigned in South Africa, ICASA- the telecom regulator will auction the additional spectrum including the 5G spectrum by the end of 2020.  



Notably, with an evident increase in the development of 5G compatible smartphones, fixed wireless, and Wi-Fi enabled access routers Vodacom aims at expanding its 5G solutions across the nation.



Reportedly, the company is selling Huawei 5G CPE PRO fixed wireless routers and 5G enabled LG V50 smartphones.



 



Source Credits: https://in.reuters.com/article/vodacom-grp-safrica-5g/vodacom-launches-commercial-5g-mobile-network-in-south-africa-idINKBN22G1IQ

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Nandita Bhardwaj

Nandita holds a management degree with specialization in marketing, and boasts of a short-term experience in the field of recruitment. Following her passion for writing however, she decided to pursue a career in the field of content development. Presently, Nandita pens down news pieces for newsorigins.com, spanning the verticals of business, finance, and technology.