MTN South Africa to build rural 3G

MTN South Africa will build a 3G network in the 900MHz band, TechCentral reports, according to TeleGeography CommsUpdate.

The network is designed to better serve consumers in outlying areas; MTN expects growth in demand for broadband services outside of South Africa’s main cities during the the next few years.

By using the 900MHz bandwidth, MTN hopes to provide coverage with fewer base stations, reducing costs.

Previously, South Africa’s two largest mobile network operators by subscribers, Vodacom and MTN, used the 2100MHz band for 3G services, resulting in a smaller footprint around cell towers.

MTN South Africa reports that it has concluded a detailed UMTS-900 test, involving 20 base stations in the Limpopo province, and has ascertained that the technology delivers a 30 percent increase in coverage compared to 3G delivered at 2.1GHz. MTN’s 3G network covers 48 percent of South Africa, but the imminent deployment is expected to expand coverage dramatically.