MTN South Africa CEO Godfrey Motsa
MTN South Africa has launched a commercial 5G network in South Africa, providing access from 100 high sites around the country.
One of the key innovations driving the broad roll-out by MTN has been a strategic approach to dynamic spectrum sharing
“Today’s launch comes on the back of government’s allocation of temporary spectrum but is also the culmination of extensive 5G trials and testing,” the company said in a statement.
Four bands
Chiarelli said MTN will deliver 5G connectivity on four different spectrum bands:
3.5GHz at 58 sites: This is the ideal spectrum band for 5G, known as the “golden band”, offering both faster speeds and low latencies.
2.1GHz and 1.8GHz at 35 sites: MTN is re-farming some 4G spectrum to allow it to run 4G and 5G spectrum, at the same time, in the same band.
Our call to the regulator and government is to release permanent 4G and 5G spectrum as a matter of urgency so that we can fuel the digital revolution our nation needs to bridge the digital divide that currently deepens the gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’,” said MTN South Africa CEO Godfrey Motsa.
