Internet Solutions launches Rain commercial LTE-A for ISPs in South Africa
Internet Solutions and Rain have teamed up to offer commercial LTE-A packages to local Internet service providers.
IS will act as Rain’s open access go-to-market partner for its fixed LTE-A product.
“Access to LTE-A on the Rain network, with streamlined provisioning of service from Internet Solutions, is an attractive proposition for ISPs that have identified LTE-A as a driver of business sustainability, through an expanded product portfolio and infrastructure savings,” said Murray Steyn, executive head of wholesale at IS.
“As Internet Solutions is already integrated into all existing telcos, adding LTE-A to their offering will demonstrate their responsiveness to new technologies and consumer demand.”
The Rain LTE-A network currently consists of 750 active base stations, which extend across South Africa’s major centres and metropolitan areas.
The company said it is on target to reach 2,000 sites by the end of the year, and expects to increase its footprint to 5,000 base stations by 2018 – ultimately growing to 10,000 sites.
It said that where there is high-density mobile coverage, LTE-A offers ISPs and their customers advantages over a wired network like ADSL or fibre, particularly for ISPs that wish to deliver services to customers quickly with minimal disruption during installation.
“Internet Solutions will offer service providers access to the network in a manner that benefits South African ISPs, businesses, and ultimately, consumers. We believe that the use of our companies’ respective strengths will best benefit the market,” said Rain CEO Duncan Simpson-Craib.
Rain is also ready to roll-out future wireless technologies like LTE-Advanced Pro and 5G when they become available in the coming years.
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