The team that created the best mobile network in South Africa
Zoltan Miklos and his team of engineers and planners have created the best mobile network South Africa has ever seen.
MTN recently won the coveted MyBroadband ‘Best Mobile Network in South Africa’ award for the eighth year in a row.
The mobile operator has dominated independent network quality rankings in South Africa for years. However, this was not always the case.
For many years, Vodacom had the best network and was known for being the first to launch new technologies, such as 3G and LTE.
Vodacom became synonymous with being the mobile operator with the superior network and worked hard to maintain this crown.
Things began to change a decade ago, when former MTN South Africa CEO Mteto Nyati announced a major project to improve network quality.
The operator increased its network investment by 50% to R12 billion to improve peak performance on its 3G and LTE networks and significantly reduce dropped calls.
The strategy worked. In 2017 and 2018, MTN’s network was ranked the co-best by Ookla and MyBroadband, and the best by P3 Communications.
By 2019, MTN had achieved a clear lead over Vodacom in independent network quality tests, which it has maintained until today.
Nyati recently commented on MTN South Africa’s network improvement project, saying the turnaround was not magic.
“It was a combination of accurate diagnosis, the right internal leadership, capable and aligned strategic partners, and disciplined, time-bound execution,” he said.
“Turnarounds aren’t about heroes. They’re about building the right team, inside and out, and executing relentlessly.”
He added that true transformation, like the MTN network improvement, happens when multiple stakeholders play their distinct roles in harmony.
The team behind MTN South Africa’s award-winning network
The man leading the team behind MTN’s exceptional network performance is Zoltan Miklos, a telecoms veteran with 30 years of experience in networks.
He was part of the team that launched 8ta (now Telkom Mobile) and played a key role in planning and implementing the data network connectivity architecture.
He joined MTN in 2017 and became a driving force behind MTN South Africa’s strategy to create the best mobile network in South Africa.
Today, Miklos leads a team of network engineers, planners, and optimisation specialists to ensure MTN delivers the best customer experience. The team includes:
- Farhad Essop — Network Operations
- Richard Nunes — Network Implementation
- Solomzi Mnyaka — Network Services Engineering
- Gustav Hoffmann — Radio Quality, Network Planning, and Optimisation
- Ronnie Kritzinger — Network Technology
- Thokozani Malinga — Radio Network Planning
- Rodney Reddy — Network Planning and Engineering
- Nadeem Amra — Radio Network Performance
- Dijon Mannie — Radio Access Network Planning
- Ronald Moodley — Radio Quality
- Nontuthuzelo Gugushe — Head of Network Operations
- Rami Farah — Chief Technology Officer
This team is responsible for the planning and architecture of the mobile network spanning across several domains.
It includes radio access network planning and network quality and optimisation, transmission, and IP access planning.
They are also responsible for OSS tools planning, technology governance, including network type approval, and mobile device testing.
Miklos is quick to point out that building and maintaining the best network in South Africa is a team effort, supported by the company as a whole.
He highlighted that they hold regular meetings to improve network quality, with participants from the planning, deployment, and operational domains.
These include representatives from head office and regional areas, who all contribute to improving MTN South Africa’s network.
An example of this teamwork is the recent recognition of MTN SA’s work in autonomous networks, which earned it a TM Forum ANL4 certificate.
This certificate is an industry validation or professional credential associated with achieving Autonomous Network Level 4.
Miklos explained that they started the autonomous network journey more than a year ago, and this certification showed the great progress they had made.
“Thank you to MTN SA’s Network Access Transmission team and the MTN Group Network supporting teams for making this achievement possible,” he said.
MTN network awards
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