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Cell C unveils R8bn LTE plans

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 09 Apr 2015
Cell C CEO Jose Dos Santos says the company will invest R8 billion over the next three years to build its LTE network.
Cell C CEO Jose Dos Santos says the company will invest R8 billion over the next three years to build its LTE network.

Cell C - the last of SA's operators to bring a commercial long-term evolution (LTE) offering to market - will invest R8 billion over the next three years to build its next-generation network, which will be deployed in selected areas across the country.

CEO Jose Dos Santos says the operator's LTE strategy, which involves over 4 000 sites, will be "focused and strategic" and will target metropolitan areas where people work and live. "The primary commuting areas that fall outside the major metros will remain covered by HSPA+."

The company has signed supply agreements with Huawei and ZTE, which are Cell C's primary partners in the rollout of LTE.

Initial targets

Cell C says the first areas to see its LTE network deployed will be Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape. "Gated communities and high-density residential areas where there is a great demand for high-speed data will be one of our priorities," says Dos Santos.

In a phased approach, Cell C will upgrade sites starting in the central Gauteng areas from Rosebank and Sandton across the northern Johannesburg areas. This will be followed by the northern Gauteng areas, including Pretoria and Centurion, and finally the eastern and western parts of Gauteng to include Benoni, Boksburg, Johannesburg proper, Soweto, Lenasia and Roodepoort.

"We have a comprehensive plan and strategic reasoning behind the specific tower rollout route we have chosen and are working to ensure every LTE site is linked to our fibre backbone."

In KwaZulu-Natal, Cell C will start the rollout in areas from Hillcrest through to the Dolphin Coast, as well as the Umhlanga area. Areas surrounding Durban, including Chatsworth and Durban South, will follow. Pietermaritzburg, Umlazi and surrounding areas will be next on the roadmap.

Rollout in the Western Cape will begin from Sea Point to Durbanville, the airport and Stellenbosch. Simon's Town through Constantia to Brakenfell and Somerset West will be included in the second wave of the Western Cape deployment, while Mitchells Plain and Paarl are next on the map.

"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 rollouts will be unveiled at a later stage," says Dos Santos.

LTE race

Vodacom, first past the post with an LTE offering in October 2012, currently has the most LTE sites, a number in the region of 2 000. Telkom follows with around 1 300 LTE-enabled sites and MTN is slightly behind, with about 1 000 sites now live.

Cell C has been trialling its LTE with a select group of customers in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape since the end of 2012, but has not yet brought a full commercial offer to the table.

The operator says full coverage maps will be available in due course and will be updated closer to commercial launch, which Cell C says will take place "in the latter part of 2015". Cell C will reveal its LTE suite of products and services "in due course", it says.

Network boost

"The LTE rollout will complement Cell C's continued investment into its existing network and the rollout of additional towers to improve HSPA+ performance and increase coverage and capacity across the country," says Cell C.

An additional 1 353 3G sites are planned across the country over the next few years "to ensure Cell C stays above the curve" and projects are also under way in various provinces to enhance network quality and stability.

"We have worked hard to ensure the best possible quality and service experience for our customers and we will continue to put quality at the top of the agenda. We are excited to now be able to add LTE to our roadmap."

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