MTN South Africa on Wednesday reported that its network sites in Gauteng are now achieving between 95% and 98% network availability daily, compared with the low 80% experienced in Johannesburg during the early stages of loadshedding, as MTN’s modernisation drive kicks into high gear.

The current network resilience deployment had reached 99.91%, with expectations of 100% network resilience in Gauteng by the end of November, said MTN South Africa Gauteng region GM Keith Tukei.

Ongoing investment, MTN’s modernisation drive and backup solutions had enabled the province to significantly improve network availability, despite ongoing theft, damage and loadshedding.

“Network resilience is critical as it helps minimise the impact of disruptions and in turn ensures people can stay connected and economies can continue to flourish. We are very pleased with the progress we are making in Gauteng to achieving 100% resilience and ensuring we bring the benefits of the modern connected world to more people,” he said in a statement.

MTN South Africa deployed 59 new fifth-generation sites in Gauteng during 2023, bringing the total to 965 sites in the region, with new deployments in Johannesburg Central, Johannesburg East, Parktown, Krugersdorp, Vanderbijlpark, Boksburg, Heidelberg and Sandton.

As MTN continued its modernisation plans and added more sites in the region in 2023, the company was also rolling out nine new sites in underserved areas this year, Tukei said, explaining that MTN South Africa aimed to achieve 95% rural broadband coverage by 2025.

“While mobile has been driving digital inclusion, there remain significant connectivity gaps in areas not yet covered by a mobile broadband network. These uncovered communities – predominantly rural, poor and sparsely populated – are a key focus for us. I am pleased that in Gauteng we are making significant progress in closing this access gap,” he concluded.