Telecommunications group MTN South Africa (SA) aims to have 25% of South Africa’s population covered by fifth-generation (5G) connectivity by the end of 2022, as it ramps up its deployment.

MTN currently has over 1 000 active 5G sites servicing dozens of towns and cities across South Africa including the City of Johannesburg; City of Cape Town; eThekwini; Ekurhuleni; Nelson Mandela Bay; City of Mbombela; Mangaung; City of Tshwane; and Polokwane, besides others.

“We want to have 5G connectivity across almost every part of South Africa. Our aim is to bring the benefits of the Fourth Industrial Revolution to more people in an efficient and cost-effective way,” said MTN SA CEO Charles Molapisi.

The company will initially have a strong focus on investment into main metropolitans, peri-urban areas and larger townships.

“The recent spectrum auction in South Africa accelerated the adoption of 5G and new applications in, among others, the Internet of Things, the cloud and augmented reality, opening the door to a world of innovation and opportunity,” he said.

In March, MTN participated in the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) high demand spectrum auction, securing 2 x 10 MHz of 800 MHz, 40 MHz of 2 600 MHz and 40 MHz of 3 500 MHz, for a total of R5.15-billion.

MTN already has 555 5G sites in Gauteng, while 20 sites are set to come online shortly in Rustenburg and Brits, in the North West.

Total 5G sites will reach 179 in the Western Cape by the end of the year, while more 5G sites are planned for Bloemfontein and KwaZulu-Natal, the latter of which currently has more than 100 5G sites.

“Investment into the Free State and Northern Cape will be ramped up and MTN SA is on track to add 21 additional 5G sites across both provinces to build on the existing 45 in the Free State and 21 in the Northern Cape,” Molapisi commented.

MTN’s 5G connectivity plans include deploying 58 new sites in Limpopo during 2022 to add to the existing 53.

“MTN is also rolling out 5G experiential zones in major shopping centres to showcase the capabilities of this next-generation technology, and make these benefits available across the new world of 5G gaming, smart home and motion tracking, among many others,” he continued.

5G is available in mobile and fixed services through a home-connected plug-and-play solution, which connects WiFi-enabled devices, or through sim offerings on 5G-enabled devices.

It is also available on Dynamic Spectrum Sharing in certain areas, offering another way to access faster speeds.

“Our investment will continue to drive the rollout of 5G, as we want to bring the benefits of the modern, connected world to all. For us, every South African should be able to “5G” their lives, homes, offices and every aspect of their on-the-go lifestyles. Our intention is to keep increasing network coverage, improved throughputs and customer experience.

“We are moving fast to ensure our users are at the forefront of innovation and change. Thanks to its greater bandwidth and higher download speeds, 5G is a gamechanger and will continue to shake up the world of technology,” Molapisi concluded.