MTN Completes Africa’s First 5.5G Test in South Africa
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Loading... - Audrey Smith
- 14 Nov 2024
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MTN Group has successfully completed Africa's first 5.5G network trial at its headquarters in Johannesburg, South Africa, in collaboration with Huawei. This milestone comes four years after MTN South Africa launched its initial 5G services on 100 sites in 2020. Since then, MTN South Africa has expanded its 5G coverage to 44 percent of its coverage area.
5.5G is an advanced iteration of 5G, similar to how 4G LTE emerged as a faster version of 4G. The new 5.5G networks are reported to be ten times faster than current 5G networks. According to Huawei, 5.5G technology promises headline connection speeds of up to 10 gigabytes per second, supports ten times the number of Internet of Things (IoT) connections, and reduces latency by a factor of ten.
When 5G was initially launched, it was touted for its potential download speeds ranging between 10 and 20 Gbps, making it 100 times faster than 4G. Rami Farah, MTN South Africa’s Chief Technology Officer, emphasized that the successful validation of 5.5G technology is not only a technical achievement but also reflects MTN’s commitment to excellence. He expressed optimism for further innovative solutions aimed at enhancing network quality and user experience for South Africans.
Li Chen, Vice President of Huawei’s Sub-Saharan Region, highlighted that this new technology will help bridge the digital divide and accelerate the development of the digital economy, ushering in the mobile AI era across the African continent. MTN reported achieving a user experience speed of 8.6 Gbps during the trial.
As of the end of 2023, the GSMA, the global telecoms body, noted that the number of 5G connections worldwide had surpassed 1.5 billion. However, it is anticipated that 5G technology may not dominate the Sub-Saharan African market, where 4G networks are expected to remain the prevailing standard for the foreseeable future.
