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MTN SA launches

c o mme r cial L T E

net w o r k

MTN SA has announced the commercial roll out of 4G LTE network. Customers now have access to quicker broadband speeds.

By Ian Armitage 2

www.southafricamag.com

MTN SA focus TELECOMS

fter more than a year of testing MTN South Africa, the country’s second largest mobile network operator, has launched its fourth-generation (4G) long-term evolution (LTE) network. It is available on a commercial basis in Joburg (Midrand, Sandton, Rosebank, Fourways, Roodepoort, Fairlands and OR Tambo), Pretoria (Menlyn, Centurion, Pretoria East and Hatfield) and Durban (Westville, Pinetown, Kloof, Hillcrest, Tongaat, Queensburgh, King Shaka International airport and Umhlanga), after going live on December 1. The man in charge of the roll out is Mike Fairon. He says the network will offer speeds of up to 70Mbits/s, although consumers should expect average download speeds of 5Mbit/s and 15Mbit/s. “We want to have 500 live sites by the end of the year,” Fairon, who talked with South Africa Magazine two days after the launch, says. “We’ve upgraded over 1600 base stations to prepare for this activation and it comes after extensive testing.” MTN’s switch-on follows rival Vodacom’s launch of its own commercial LTE services in October, which surprised delegates at the 2012 MyBroadband Conference. “Our system provides faster connection speeds than other networks which run on a 2X5Mhz,” says Fairon. “Along with the launch, we are offering a Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 LTE on a MTN 2GB with contract for R799.00 per month, over 12 months. “And we’ll start selling 4G dongles next year. “These things take time. Changes in mobile communications have always been evolutionary and LTE deployment will be the same in that the transition from 3G to LTE over a period of several years, just like with 2G to 3G. “Right now there’s not an abundance of LTE devices in the market, so all operators are subject to what LTE devices are

available. The transition is more than just a technology upgrade however and has to be approached correctly.” He says device manufacturers have a major role to play. “They will determine in many respects the speed at which we can roll out the LTE because you need devices. Right now not all are LTEenabled so we’ve focused on ones that are. We’re currently focused on the data component of the LTE so things like tablets, with the Samsung, dongles, routers and gateways.” The MTN LTE has the potential to “change” how we use and view the Internet. “I think there is an insatiable appetite for speed and a consistent experience when you’re on the Internet,” says Fairon. “You can’t deliver services fast enough to consumers in terms of what they’re doing on the Internet. What we’re seeing is that there is a dire need for speed and coupled with that, when we look at actual activity on the network, there’s a lot of video being consumed. When you put the two together you need certain speeds in order to have an acceptable level of video experience on the network, so the two go hand in hand. Also

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when you see what customers are doing in terms of accessing cloud services, they need speed. Indeed, if you look at ICT-based cloud services, they need a certain speed to deliver an experience that is acceptable to consumers and/or business. This will fuel the uptake of cloud-based services. I think there’s a number of components that need to come together to create the perfect storm to drive cloud based services.” If you’ve already opted to migrate to the LTE, you’ll be experiencing speeds of 30-40Mbit/s. It won’t stay that way forever, and as more people join the network the speeds will come down. Even so, it will be fast enough to “fundamentally change” consumer behaviour. “We’re seeing that some of the customers who have brought the proposition already are getting 30 to 40Mbit/s,” says Fairon. “That won’t always be the case. As the network crawls up, it will average probably between 5Mbit/s and maybe 10 or 14Mbit/s, but even at 5-10Mbit/s you can fundamentally change consumer behaviour. They will drive their own changes in behaviour and we will see a larger uptake in videobased services and a lot of uptake in cloud-based services. I think we may even see a dynamic shift in the traditional IT infrastructure market where consumers don’t need PCs and laptops anymore as everything they get will be off the cloud. I think we will see a shift in what consumers purchase from a device perspective.” The LTE will have a number of positive ramifications for MTN, least of which in its bid to break into the fast-growing mobile financial services market. 4

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MTN SA focus TELECOMS

MTN has partnered with the South African Bank of Athens as well as retailers Pick n Pay and Boxer Stores to introduce Mobile Money. Mobile Money is operated by TYME, a distribution channel of the South African Bank of Athens, and the service allows customers to make payments from their mobile phones, including person-toperson money transfers and to purchase prepaid electricity and airtime vouchers. “The LTE absolutely has positive ramifications there,” says Fairon. “We are already seeing a healthy uptake in the new mobile banking services which is again another component of the whole convergence play and how our network and infrastructure is allowing us to converge industries and technologies etc and reshape some of the landscapes.

“The LTE also helps us lead our 2020 broadband vision, which includes the provision up to 100Mbit/s to consumers in urban areas, so this really helps us meet our urban vision that we have put into place and helping consumers get a consistent high-speed connection. Many reports have shown a direct correlation between broadband penetration and economic development so this will drive the economic development of SA at an urban level and then as the network heads up into some of the less urban areas, it will bring economic development to different parts of the country.” END A street level coverage map that shows areas with MTN LTE coverage can be seen on the company’s website, www.mtn.co.za. www.southafricamag.com

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