iPhone and iPad LTE support in SA
Vodacom, MTN, Cell C, and 8ta will launch commercial LTE services before the end of the year, but because of the frequencies used for LTE by these networks, it means that the iPad 3 will not work on all LTE networks.
The Apple iPhone 5 which will be launched in South Africa is the GSM model A1429, supporting 2,100MHz, 1,800MHz, and 850Mhz LTE spectrum bands.
The iPad 3 in South Africa supports 700Mhz and 2,100MHz LTE spectrum bands.
Vodacom and MTN are planning to launch LTE services in the 1,800MHz band, while Cell C will use their 2,100MHz spectrum for LTE.
This means that the iPad 3 will only work on Cell C’s LTE network, while the iPhone 5 will work on Vodacom, MTN, and Cell C’s LTE networks.
8ta will launch its LTE trial using 2300Mhz spectrum.
iPhone 5
The following table provides an overview of the LTE support in South Africa for Apple’s latest iPhone and iPad.
| Device | LTE frequency support | South African network support |
| iPad 3 | 700MHz | None |
| iPad 3 | 2100Mhz | Cell C |
| iPhone 5 | 850Mhz | None |
| iPhone 5 | 1800Mhz | MTN, Vodacom |
| iPhone 5 | 2100Mhz | Cell C |
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