MTN and ZTE bringing 5G connectivity to South African coasts – by extending coverage 22km from land

MTN and ZTE recently partnered on an exciting 5G Ultra-range Maritime Coverage Project to determine how far they could extend MTN’s 5G network across territorial waters and what speeds they could achieve at this range.

With leading radio access network (RAN) provider ZTE’s infrastructure, the telecom giant extended its 5G network coverage 22km from land – up to where international waters start.

We travelled this distance out to sea to test the network using the MyBroadband Speed Test app and reached speeds up to 116.92Mbps at this distance.

This was achieved with an outdoor 5G router that received the signal and created a Wi-Fi network for us to connect to and run speed tests on.

MyBroadband interviewed the project leaders to find out more about how they achieved this feat, what the purpose of the 5G Ultra-range Maritime Coverage Project was, and what the implications would be both for the companies and South Africa.

We spoke to Dr Ronnie Kritzinger, MTN’s Radio Technology Senior Manager, and Charles Yang, ZTE’s Director of Marketing and Solutions.

Kritzinger explained that MTN achieved 22km of range out to sea by using the low-band frequency it bid for in the recent spectrum auction.

“We used the 800MHz spectrum and aggregated that with other LTE bands to deploy our 5G network in non-standalone mode,” said Kritzinger.

This frequency was broadcast from a sectorised macro site, giving 5G coverage to everyone in the vicinity of the port and the Mossel Bay area.

Kritzinger explained that MTN and ZTE had to overcome several challenges to get the signal out that far.

“One of them is rough seas when you go out testing the quality of the network that has been deployed. To send people out to ensure every tick box is ticked to provide the best performance at 22km becomes challenging,” said Kritzinger.

However, with ZTE as their partner, MTN was able to develop the project and achieve its goal.

“The project is an innovative solution that uses 5G to cover up to the maritime line,” said Yang.

“We know the biggest shortfall of 5G is coverage, but we have innovative 5G solutions to increase network coverage while maintaining fast speeds,” he said.
Watch our interview with Kritzinger and Yang below.

Benefits and the future

Yang explained that ZTE approached MTN with this idea and has implemented it since many tourists come to Mossel Bay to whale watch at this time of year.

MTN and ZTE used the opportunity to show the tangible benefits of extended 5G coverage in seaside locations.

“Tourism is big in Mossel Bay, and we wanted to find a use case that we can take to market to show the benefits that 5G can offer to people not just on land but on the ocean as well,” said Kritzinger.

“Talking with local fisheries, sea workers, and the National Sea Rescue Institute [NSRI] of South Africa, we realised how 5G can improve their lives and operations.”

Kritzinger also explained that this project is not merely a proof of concept. It is a long-term initiative with plans for further expansion to other South African ports.

“MTN plans to extend this even further along the coastline to make sure that everybody benefits from the 5G network that MTN has to offer.”