Vodacom pledged to spend ZAR800 million (US$44.4 million) this financial year to upgrade its network and deliver connectivity to deep remote locations in the South African region of KwaZulu-Natal.
In a statement, the company detailed that it will build new mobile sites, modernise its networks and deploy more fibre.
Vodacom KwaZulu-Natal region Managing Executive, Imran Khan said the operator has also allocate resources to build 130 new sites in “deep rural areas” in Ugu, Umhlabuyalingana, Abaqulusi and Edumbe local municipalities. Vodafone detailed that these provinces had “never had connectivity before”.
“It is no longer acceptable for deep rural residents to observe the digital revolution from the sidelines; they must participate in it and benefit from the associated socio-economic benefits," said Khan.
But the majority of the ZAR800 million will be used to upgrade RAN, modernise core and deploy 4G and 5G connectivity in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. Vodacom is targeting for 3G coverage to increase to 98.89%, 4G to 98.86% and 5G to 50%. The operator did not state current coverage stats, but did disclose that the province has a 99.8% call set-up success rate and a 0.3% call drop rate due to previous investments.
Vodacom recently announced a ZAR400 million cash injection in other locations in South Africa.
