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Johannesburg - Mobile network Cell C is set to enter the LTE race in South Africa after announcing a plan to invest R8bn in a next generation broadband network.
Rivals Vodacom, MTN and Telkom Mobile have already launched LTE networks in South Africa. Vodacom, for example, was the first to launch LTE in South Africa in 2012.
But Cell C - which is South Africa’s third largest mobile network - plans to catch up after signing agreements with Chinese telecom equipment makers Huawei and ZTE.
Cell C, in a statement, says it plans to build more than 4 000 LTE sites across South Africa. The operator plans to roll-out LTE over the next three years.
“Our LTE strategy will be focused and strategic, targeting metropolitan areas where people work and live. The primary commuting areas that fall outside the major metros will remain covered by HSPA+,” Cell C CEO Jose Dos Santos said in a statement.
Gated communities and high-density residential areas in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape will be targeted for LTE services first as Cell C expects these areas to have the greatest demand for high speed data.
Breaking down its roll-out plan further, Cell C said sites in central Gauteng areas such as Rosebank and Sandton along with northern Johannesburg areas are expected to get the company’s LTE services first.
Northern Gauteng areas such as Pretoria and Centurion will be next, followed by the switching on of Cell C LTE in eastern and western parts of the province like Benoni, Boksburg, Johannesburg proper, Soweto, Lenasia and Roodepoort.
In KwaZulu-Natal, Cell C plans rolling out LTE in Hillcrest through to the Dolphin Coast, Umhlanga, Durban, Chatsworth, Durban South, Pietermaritzburg, Umlazi and surrounding areas.
Meanwhile, in the Western Cape, Cell C said it plans to install LTE sites from SeaPoint to Durbanville, the Airport, Stellenbosch, Simon’s Town, Constantia to Brakenfell and Somerset West. Mitchells Plain and Paarl are also planned to follow, says the operator.
“These are just some of the areas that will be covered by LTE over the next three years. Limpopo, Mpumalanga and other provinces are planned, and details of these roll-outs will be unveiled at a later stage,” said Dos Santos.
Buying talks?
Cell C’s move to built an R8bn LTE network comes amid talk that the operator could be up for sale.
Bloomberg reported earlier this year that Cell C’s majority owner Dubai-based Oger Telecom is working with the Goldman Sachs Group on reviewing the company’s operations.
Cell C has previously said that it has about 20 million customers in South Africa behind Vodacom which leads the market with over 30 million users in the country.
