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Vodacom expands LTE base

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 25 Mar 2013
Vodacom is not charging consumers more for LTE services, says CEO Shameel Joosub.
Vodacom is not charging consumers more for LTE services, says CEO Shameel Joosub.

SA's largest cellular provider, Vodacom, has extended long-term evolution offerings to prepaid and Top Up subscribers on the back of increased coverage and a wider range of devices becoming available.

LTE, commonly known as 4G, provides speeds of up to double the current network offerings. Vodacom was the first operator to launch commercial LTE services in South Africa in October last year. The service was initially available to contract customers, but with increased LTE coverage and a much wider range of devices now available, LTE services have now also been made available to prepaid and Top Up customers.

"We want everyone to have access to the latest technology and fastest mobile connection, so there's no additional charge for LTE. All you'll need is a 64kb or higher SIM card and a compatible device. It's that simple," says Vodacom CEO Shameel Joosub.

Vodacom is investing more than R6 billion a year in South Africa, adding to its network of 3G base stations as well as building LTE coverage. At current rates, the number of 3G base stations is growing at around 25%, it says.

All customers who have a Vodacom supported LTE capable device will be automatically provisioned for the LTE service within 24 hours of the device being registered on the network. In certain instances the settings may need to be changed directly on the device.

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