Subscribe

Vodacom expands Western Cape coverage

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 03 Sept 2015
Vodacom plans to spend over R180 million to expand its Western Cape coverage this year.
Vodacom plans to spend over R180 million to expand its Western Cape coverage this year.

Vodacom plans to invest more than R180 million in the Western Cape this financial year, to expand coverage and increase network capacity and speed. This is according to newly appointed managing executive for the province, Alberts Breed.

"The bulk of the money will be spent on adding new base stations and connecting sites with our own high-speed transmission. An investment to the tune of R60 million has been completed on the Western Cape province network to date, meaning our investment programme is on track," says Breed.

Vodacom has been working on a major programme, Project Spring, since late 2013, to accelerate investment in its network across SA. Vodacom says over the past year alone, the network has increased the number of 3G sites by more than 20% to almost 9 000, and more than doubled the number of LTE/4G sites to 2 600.

"This year, we're planning to add 434 radio base station sites, comprising 91 2G sites, 193 3G and more than 150 LTE/4G sites. On a practical basis, this means we'll be bringing faster data services to tens of thousands of people who currently only have voice services and Edge data services," adds Breed.

Vodacom says data growth in township areas of Western Cape has more than doubled year-on-year, as more people are buying affordable smartphones and tablets. Because of this, the telco is rolling out sites in Khayelitsha, Gugulethu and Langa, to help give residents better connectivity on their devices.

"We're investing millions of rands into the network this year in a bid to ensure we get as many people as possible connected no matter where they are. To achieve this, it's important that we invest in the rural and township areas, as well as the cities to make sure nobody gets left behind," says Breed.

Upgrades will also increase network capacity, provide improved voice quality and enhanced mobile data speeds in outlying areas such as Vermont, Kleinmond, Veldrift, Saldanha, Gansbaai Town, Koringberg and Hopefield by the end of March 2016.

Radio base stations are sites that enable mobile phones to work. They vary in size and have transmitters and receivers connected to antennas. They can be mounted on a large mast or tower, an existing building, rooftops or street lamps.

Vodacom says by March next year, its Western Cape network will have a total of 1 205 2G sites, 1 166 3G sites and 631 LTE sites.

Share