Cell C upgrades its Gauteng network

Johannesburg - South Africa’s third largest mobile network Cell C says it has completed its Gauteng network upgrade project in a move that lays the groundwork for the company to launch LTE services.

Cell C’s Radio Access Network (RAN) upgrade in Gauteng modernised equipment and replaced out-dated gear on 1 215 base stations, the operator said on Tuesday.

Spin-offs of the upgrade project include improvements to the management of the network and eliminating cluster outages as a result of single point failures, Cell C said.

“We remain focused on improvements and where there are areas that still need attention, we will put all our efforts into fixing those areas,” said Cell C CEO, Jose Dos Santos, in a statement.

Cell C said it has also pumped R2.3bn, as part of its 2014 capital investment, into the roll-out of new towers across the country to increase its capacity and coverage.

Of 442 new towers that Cell C rolled out countrywide, 256 of these were in Gauteng.

Meanwhile, the mobile network added that it has an additional 158 base stations currently in the site build process for Gauteng, which are expected to be online in early 2015.

“The modernisation of the network, combined with the increased stability and additional sites, creates the required framework for Cell C’s LTE strategy,” said Cell C in the statement.

Rivals Vodacom, MTN and Telkom have launched LTE services in South Africa, leaving Cell C to be the last to not provide this offering yet.