LTE network imminent

The advent of long-term evolution (LTE) in SA may be imminent, as the country's second-largest cellphone operator explores the possibility of switching on a commercial “4G” network this year.

LTE, generally construed as the next generation to prevalent 3G telecommunications technologies like High-Speed Package Access (HSPA) and Evolved HSPA (HSPA+), has increasingly been making local headlines since just over a year ago.

MTN, which initiated an LTE pilot test in Gauteng on 14 July last year, has now hinted that commercial rollout of the technology is likely in parts of Johannesburg, Pretoria and Durban - within the next four months.

At the time of MTN's initial pilot project, the operator said the technology would transform the provision of broadband services in SA.

Now, a year down the line since MTN started piloting LTE in a bid to fine-tune the technology and “acquire better knowledge and experience about it”, Lambotharan says about 200 LTE sites are currently live. “The pilot is running on 10MHz of refarmed 1 800MHz spectrum, and boasts speeds of 70Mbps and a latency of less than 15ms.”

He says the speed is almost double that currently available on the market, and that it will enable faster download and streaming speeds.

“MTN believes that any significant increase in broadband penetration will be delivered through wireless services. In order to promote and encourage this uptake, mobile networks require access to the identified 'high-demand spectrum' for the deployment of their LTE networks.”

A Global Mobile Suppliers Association update, in June last year, revealed that, while LTE is the fastest-growing mobile technology to date, SA and Africa at large are significantly behind the rest of the world as far as its deployment goes.

At the time, MTN indicated concrete LTE commitments, while Vodacom and Cell C said they were running trials.

ITWeb reported in June last year that, until spectrum in the 2.6GHz band is auctioned by government, operators cannot do much more than test the technology. Also to be taken into account is that SA is running out of space in currently allocated frequency bands.

Spokesperson for the Independent Communications Authority of SA Paseka Maleka previously said that auctions for the digital dividend (the space that will be freed up when SA moves off analogue television broadcasting) are only likely after the move to digital has been finalised. Digital migration, however, has been repeatedly delayed and now has a three-year deadline of June 2015.

MTN is optimistic about LTE rollout to the earmarked areas before the end of the year, and says it could also roll out the service to other parts of the country, if the 2.6GHz and 800MHz spectrum were to be made available. However, says the operator: “MTN is guided by government regulation in the allocation of this high-demand spectrum.”

The operator says the number of customers that will benefit from the initial commercial rollout is dependent on spectrum availability and device accessibility, but could not give certain figures.

The financial investment in the project, says MTN, is confidential, for competitive reasons, and the price for users of the fourth-generation technology has not yet been finalised.