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Telkom debuts LTE-Advanced in SA

Admire Moyo
By Admire Moyo, ITWeb's news editor.
Johannesburg, 14 Nov 2014
Telkom is the first to deploy LTE-A in SA and Southern Africa, says Attila Vitai, MD of Telkom Mobile and Consumer of Telkom.
Telkom is the first to deploy LTE-A in SA and Southern Africa, says Attila Vitai, MD of Telkom Mobile and Consumer of Telkom.

Telkom rolled out the first long-term evolution (LTE)-Advanced network in Parkview today, delivering peak Internet connectivity speeds of up to 150Mbps.

Speaking during the launch this morning, Attila Vitai, MD of Telkom Mobile and Consumer, said the launch comes after the company announced its plans to roll-out fibre to the home connectivity to more 20 South African suburbs before the end of 2014.

According to Vitai, Telkom is the first to deploy LTE-A in SA and Southern Africa, and there are only about 10 countries in the world with this technology.

Telkom's move follows the Parkview Residents' Association's early-November announcement that it has selected Dark Fibre Africa as its partner to provide fibre-to-the-home infrastructure in Parkview and Greenside East, in Johannesburg.

Vitai pointed out Telkom will deploy the technology on its 2.3GHz band in SA's major cities. "Telkom is excited to launch LTE-A in Parkview as part of our new 'Futurehood' campaign. The Futurehood is a place where the possibilities of high-speed broadband meet the specific requirements of the people, homes and businesses across SA."

Competitive environment

Group COO Brian Armstrong noted Telkom started the roll-out in Parkview as that is where competition in connectivity is happening currently, with deployments of fibre taking place around the area.

Describing the advantages of LTE-A, Vitai said using the technology, a 10GB HD movie can be downloaded in less than eight minutes, or a 500MB TV series in less than 25 seconds. He added LTE-A is three times faster than the best ADSL service currently on offer in the market.

LTE-A also allows users to connect up to 32 wireless devices simultaneously, he noted.

Vitai also pointed out that, since LTE-A is a radio technology, it is easy to install, and unlike fibre, it does not require digging up of roads to install. He said Telkom's LTE-A offer is comparable to speeds available over a fibre network and provided a compelling alternative to fixed-line solutions for high-speed connectivity.

"Being a mobile solution, LTE-A does not require a wire-connection that goes into your home and it is completely 'plug and play'. LTE-A can turn your home into a fully connected WiFi hotspot."

The promotional offer unveiled to customers in the Parkview area today includes 100GB of data, at peak speeds of up to 150Mbps, for R1 399 over a 36-month contract.

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