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Vodacom South Africa, has announced plans to spend over R500 million on its mobile network in the Western Cape Province this year, as the company moves to extend its coverage reach, increase capacity and improve network uptime.
The Telco is looking to expand connectivity in urban, deep rural areas and townships in the region to enable more communities to reap the benefits of highly reliable internet connectivity.
In a statement, Vodacom said the investment forms part of the company’s commitment to building a digitally inclusive society, to promote socio-economic empowerment and close the digital divide.
Carol Hall, Managing Executive for Vodacom Western Cape said, “At Vodacom, we believe investing in our network ensures that we deliver best-in-class coverage and customer service, not only to urban areas, but to people who dwell in township and deep rural areas as well, so they are well positioned to take advantage of the benefits of the Digital Revolution.”
Driving inclusivity with expanded rural coverage
Vodacom’s network investment of more than R1.5 billion in the past three years in the Western Cape has allowed the Telco to switch on 38 new sites and upgrade over 75% of their existing 1 659 base stations with 4G capacity last year.
“R500 million will be used in the current financial year for investment in the Vodacom mobile network,” notes Hall. “As almost 90% of all our data traffic is carried on 4G technology, this amount will also go towards expanding 4G capacity across 530 sites in the region,” added Hall.
“Those most at risk of being digitally and financially excluded without the benefit of connectivity are largely in rural areas, which is why we’ve focused our energy on expanding coverage to these communities,” noted Hall.
Of last year’s site builds, 16 were in townships, with six built in rural towns and deep rural areas in the province, stated Vodacom. The current investment will see a further nine sites added in deep rural areas.
To date, the Telco says 450 base stations provide coverage to rural areas, with 247 connecting townships in the province.
The company further stated that ongoing investments have provided 98% of the Western Cape’s population with 3G coverage, with 96% of the region’s citizens enjoying 4G coverage.
Another focus area is 5G connectivity, where the Telco currently has 49 5G base stations across the region, with plans to triple this footprint across the region this year.
As South Africa grapples with power cuts and escalating load shedding, and to ensure consistent network availability and quality for voice and data services, Vodacom recently installed power back-up batteries at 240 sites in the Western Cape.
However, vandalism and theft of batteries and cables at the Telco’s base stations compounds the problem of service disruption.
“Our purpose is to shape an inclusive digital society that leaves no one behind, especially in our increasingly digitised post-COVID landscape. Extensive coverage is one way to ensure everyone can be connected but, more than that, Vodacom strives to deliver quality coverage to enable an equitable network experience whether our customers are in rural or urban areas,” concludes Hall.
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