Vodacom announced that it has successfully installed 4G\u00a0equipment at every site across the country – enabling\u00a0its whole network to now be 4G capable.<\/p>\n
The network upgrade was a multi-billion rand six- year programme, described by Vodacom CTO Andries Delport as the biggest project he has been involved in.<\/p>\n
Vodacom demonstrated the capability of its new 4G network in Midrand where download speeds of 270Mbps were achieved.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt this speed an entire music album could be downloaded in 10 seconds. This is approximately four times faster than the fastest speed achieved with LTE technology on Vodacom\u2019s network,\u201d Vodacom said.<\/p>\n
It’s worth noting that while the equipment used throughout Vodacom’s\u00a0radio network is all 4G-capable, 3G and 4G technology has not been switched on at all\u00a0sites.<\/p>\n
Delport provided the following details on the number of sites currently offering 2G, 3G, and LTE services:<\/p>\n
Around 76% of Vodacom’s\u00a0base stations have high capacity backhaul, enabling them to utilise the\u00a0high-speed broadband\u00a0offered by LTE, Delport added. This means that although Vodacom’s radio network is 4G capable, not all of its sites have the necessary transmission capacity\u00a0to exploit the high speeds.<\/p>\n
He also said that the duration of their radio network renewal project was 6 years and 3 months and involved over 2 million kilometres of travelling. During an equipment swap, the average site downtime was\u00a045 minutes, and\u00a0the shortest down-time recorded was\u00a025 minutes.<\/p>\n