Just short of two weeks after Telkom's mobile arm, 8ta, announced it was ready to start offering its long-term evolution (LTE) service to qualifying customers in Gauteng, it has closed the application process for trials.
This comes as the operator received what it says was an "overwhelming response" to its invitation for participation in its free LTE trial. 8ta says, in less than a week, over 7 000 individuals had responded to the invitation. "Subsequently, [8ta] will close the application process to begin identifying successful applicants for participation in the trial."
8ta says it will contact the successful applicants by the first day of November, to put the necessary formalities in order and arrange installation. "Once successful applicants have accepted participation in the trial, 8ta will begin installation - starting the week of 4 November.
"8ta will also contact applicants who were not successful in their application to participate. This engagement will also provide integral information for the development of LTE coverage and offerings."
The 8ta LTE coverage page, says the mobile operator, will remain available. This will allow prospective customers to monitor LTE coverage in their areas as 8ta "continues to grow its LTE footprint in the region".
Trial particulars
The trial was announced on 5 October and opened for application five days later - following a year of internal tests by Telkom engineers on the next-generation technology. At the time of the announcement, 8ta's managing executive, Amith Maharaj, said the trial was a critical step in taking LTE technology to market.
He said the year-long tests had yielded peak speeds of up to 90Mbps for downloads and up to 25Mbps for uploads, using appropriate end-user devices.
Successful applicants will get a free 50GB data bundle, including an LTE-enabled device that includes routers and mobile data modems and a SIM card. The LTE-enabled router will be able to serve up to 32 WiFi-enabled devices simultaneously and covers up to 15m indoors.
The trial is a bid for Telkom to better understand the requirements of customers. Maharaj says feedback from participants will inform the company's commercial offerings.
"8ta wishes to thank the public for volunteering to participate in its LTE trial as the feedback of this process will go a long way in the development of greater LTE coverage and customer-centric LTE offerings."
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