Vodacom announces big upgrades for the Eastern Cape

Vodacom says it has significantly upgraded its network in the Eastern Cape region to accommodate anticipated higher traffic needs during the 2024 holiday season.

In a statement, the mobile network operator said it expects tourists to flock to the region over the festive season, so it spent part of the region’s R500 million capex on upgrading the network.

“The Vodacom Eastern Cape region has made major network improvements to accommodate the increasing traffic needs, ensuring that tourists will stay connected throughout the busy 2024 holiday season,” it said.

Vodacom Eastern Cape Managing Executive Zakhele Jiyane said the upgrades were made over the past few months, including the rollout of 240 new 5G sites and the addition of 4G capacity to 40 towers in the province.

“Vodacom Eastern Cape region has made efforts to provide a consistent network experience during this festive period so that customers can have peace of mind that they can stay connected when visiting the province this festive season,” said Jiyane.

“The rollout will enable better connectivity and improved network speeds for the end user. Additionally, we have enhanced network quality and availability on 98 locations located in popular tourist destinations throughout the province.”

He assured Vodacom customers that those visiting areas like Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality, Buffalo City Metro, OR Tambo District Municipality, Kariega, and Garden Route will experience improved data speeds and voice quality.

Vodacom also improved backup power at 107 locations in the province to ensure network stability and reduce the risk of potential downtime and congestion.

“Seventy-six towers received power infrastructure upgrades and 31 new standby generators were installed at key network facilities,” it added.

It reiterated that base station vandalism and theft are still significant challenges for telecom businesses in South Africa, with such actions causing frequent outages for customers.

Vodacom said it has invested in robust security measures to mitigate these challenges.

“While we have invested significantly in boosting our security measures at our base station sites, we acknowledge that the fight against vandalism and theft is ongoing with crime syndicates finding new ways to carry out their illegal operations,” says Jiyane.

“That is why we are appealing to all stakeholders, from law enforcement to communities, to play a part in curbing these offences.”