Vodacom also announced that it has deployed the same 5G technology in South Africa, with initial speed tests being able to deliver upwards of 700Mbit/s with latencies of less than 10ms. They were also quick to add that this will exceed 1Gbit/s when new software versions and devices become available. However, until the 3.5GHz spectrum becomes available to Vodacom South Africa, this network will not be available to its customers. Also Read: How fast is 5G and when will it replace 4G LTE as mobile network standard? Vodacom Lesotho was allocated the 3.5 GHz spectrum and this enabled the launch of the commercial 5G service. Vodacom South Africa currently has a temporary license to operate the same frequency in the spectrum on 100 MHz in the 3.5 GHz band. This will allow them to showcase the performance of the said network in the South African market.
— SokoAnalyst (@SokoAnalyst) August 27, 2018 “Vodacom prides itself on being a market leader and we are extremely pleased to be first to deliver 5G services to customers in Africa. What we’ve accomplished in Lesotho is an example of what can be achieved in Africa, should the requisite spectrum also be made available,” said Shameel Joosub, Vodacom Group CEO.
Mobile tech advances way too fast for most African economies, which are, for the most part, developing and third-world markets, to keep up. To see an African telco in the cutting edge of testing and deployment of such next-generation technology is a testament to just how far African tech industry has come, and just how ready Africa is to take on the rest of the world in innovation.
