MTN to deploy 5G in more regions in South Africa

MTN South Africa on Monday reiterated its intention to deploy 5G to 25% of the population by the end of the year and has provided more granular detail about where it plans to deploy 5G sites.

In March, soon after the conclusion of communications regulator Icasa’s spectrum auction in which MTN secured 100MHz of additional bandwidth, the operator’s CEO, Charles Molapisi, said it was aiming to reach 25% population coverage by December 2022 and 60% by 2025.

Now the company has set out its aggressive 5G roll-out plans, revealing that its active 5G sites have already expanded to a thousand and the focus now is on the main metros, peri-urban areas and larger townships.

The company said:

• It has 555 active 5G sites in Gauteng;
• A further 20 sites will be launched in Rustenburg and Brits in North West “shortly”;
• There will be 179 5G sites in the Western Cape by year-end;
• Investment in the Free State and the Northern Cape will be ramped up, with 21 additional 5G sites to be added in the two provinces, building on the 45 it has in the Free State and the 21 it has deployed in the Northern Cape;
• In Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal, about 100 5G sites are live in each province, with “more planned”.

Current 5G sites that MTN has deployed across South Africa include:

• City of Johannesburg
• City of Cape Town
• Ekurhuleni
• eThekwini
• City of Tshwane
• Nelson Mandela Bay
• Mangaung
• Buffalo City
• Polokwane
• City of Mbombela
• Rustenburg
• Msunduzi
• Emalahleni
• King Sabata Dalindyebo
• City of Matlosana
• uMhlathuze
• Makhado
• Matjhabeng
• Newcastle
• Mogale City
• Ray Nkonyeni
• Govan Mbeki
• Mogalakwena
• Nyandeni
• Steve Tshwete
• KwaDukuza
• JB Marks
• Sol Plaatje
• Abaqulusi
• Enoch Mgijima
• Msukaligwa
• Stellenbosch
• uMngeni
• Kouga
• Makana
• Ndlambe
• Masilonyana
• Thembelihle