Vodacom Central Region launches first live 5G network footprint in the Northern Cape province
Vodacom Central Region has become the first network provider to switch on first live 5G mobile network in Kimberly, Northern Cape province. The 5G network supports both mobile and fixed wireless access services. Vodacom customers with 5G enabled devices, and within a 5G coverage area, are now able to access the new 5G network in Northern Cape province. In May 2020, Vodacom switched on South Africa’s first live 5G mobile network in three cities – Johannesburg, Pretoria and Cape Town. This network supports both mobile and fixed wireless services and is currently available in Free State, Gauteng, Western Cape, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu Natal provinces. To launch the 5G network in Northern Cape, Vodacom used the temporary spectrum assigned by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), specifically 1x50 MHz in the 3.5 GHz band. Vodacom has decided to use the 700 MHz band for wide scale mobile, 5G coverage and is supplementing network capacity with 3.5 GHz where ...