MTN LTE tested in Gauteng

rpm

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MTN LTE tested

MTN’s LTE network went live on Saturday, 1 December 2012, which means a weekend of wardriving at MyBroadband
 
That's pretty pathetic in comparison to Vodacom's LTE tests...
 
have I missed something or are those speeds pretty horriffic?

For an LTE network that's supposed to be empty they're not fantastic, but 8Mbps is still pretty fast. The 20+ Mbps I got on HSPA+ in Centurion was definitely surprising (pity LTE wasn't switch on when I tested there on Saturday evening).

As I understand it, when the LTE networks fill up we won't see the massive 30Mbps and 60Mbps speeds we're seeing now in the "early days".

I'd definitely like to do more tests in Centurion and Johannesburg when the cap resets to see how well MTN fares against Vodacom.
 
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As I understand it, when the LTE networks fill up we won't see the massive 30Mbps and 60Mbps speeds we're seeing now in the "early days".

Which leads me to believe that this was yet another premature launch of LTE - If those are the speeds now, what will happen when people are actually using the network? At MTN's current prices uptake of LTE from MTN will not be huge (if people actually apply thier mind and shop with thier wallets).

Perhaps though I am being too harsh this early in the game, look forward to the followup articles.
 
While i'm still getting EDGE at least 60%+ of the time in Centurion and Pretoria, and that chart showing i'm sitting in LTE territory , i'm not too optimistic about getting good speeds anytime soon. That UMTS U2100 coverage can't be accurate, i only get EDGE in Woodmead too. So either MTN is totally oversubscribed and can't handle the load, or their towers don't offer the coverage they think it does.

Probably a good thing speeds aren't too fast, MTN still does not offer any "bill shock" protection. Blowing through 2GB in 30 minutes? I already see the next headline about someone with a R50,000+ bill and not knowing wtf happened.
 
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Better than my ADSL...

However,

Don't stress over MTN. It crystal clear they just wanted to feel part of the crew and launched something they clearly know they not ready for.
 
Ah, thanks for this, almost forgot to go and close my mtn contract. :)
 
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