Vodacom KwaZulu-Natal Region has set aside over R320-million during the 2020/21 financial year to accelerate its network expansion ambitions and build new long-term evolution (LTE) base station sites in both the urban and deep rural areas of the province.

The capital expenditure (capex) will enable the deployment of more than 50 new base stations, 27 of which have already been switched on, across KwaZulu-Natal.

An additional 19 are planned for deployment in the deep rural areas by the end of the 2021 financial year, says Vodacom KwaZulu-Natal Region executive head for operations Ishmael Mathinya.

The eThekwini, Ugu, Umhlabuyalingana, Umkhanyakude, uThungulu and Zululand district municipalities will benefit from the rural network programme.

The network expansion will assist in the removal of barriers to communications, provide access to fast Internet and help drive digital inclusion among communities in ther deep rural areas of the province, which are lagging behind in terms of broadband connectivity, Mathinya comments.

“There has been a massive focus on broadband connectivity in the rural areas, with LTE coverage specifically in the rural segment at just over 80% and plans to address remaining areas by the end of the 2021 financial year.”

The region had deployed more than 2 000 base stations by mid-2020, as well as 625 additional sites as part of bandwidth expansion to provide far more improved data experience largely in eThekwini and Pietermaritzburg.

A share of the capex will be used to roll out ultra-fast fibre, including the installation of 56 km of fibre extending from Newcastle, Madadeni, Oswezwini and Blaauwbousch before routing back to Newcastle. This project will be completed in December.

Further, the national long route fibre project, running from Durban, Scottsburg, Port Shepstone and Harding, through to Kokstad, will be completed by the end of the 2021 financial year.

“The upgrades will increase network capacity, allowing the region to provide customers with super-fast Internet speeds, great quality voice and reduce dropped calls,” Mathinya says.

Effectively, many people who only had access to second- and third-generation technologies will now be able to access the Internet through fourth-generation/LTE and super-fast fibre networks.

“In addition, given the challenges with load-shedding and the drive to ensure seamless network connectivity, the region embarked on a network resilience upgrade programme, investing nearly R200-million into the programme, which will be completed by the end of October 2020,” he concludes.