South Africa’s mobile data-only network operator, Rain, has launched the first 5G commercial network in South Africa in partnership with Huawei
The announcement was made at MWC 2019, where the companies said that South Africa is one of the first countries in the world to launch 5G.
With Huawei's end-to-end 5G solutions, the company has been able to build the 5G network with its 3,6GHz spectrum. In the first roll-out phase, Rain has deployed a number of 5G sites in major areas in Johannesburg.
Willem Roos, Rain’s CEO, said, “The network will provide fibre-like speeds without the installation complexities, time delays and cost of laying fibre in under-serviced areas.”
In addition to the deployment of new base stations, Huawei’s solutions allow the company to fully leverage its existing LTE network and the allocated spectrum for 5G deployment. This approach of sharing facilities and leveraging existing infrastructure will enable Rain to implement the 5G network quickly and cost-effectively.
Jacqueline Shi, president of Huawei Cloud Core Network Product Line, commented, “It is an important step to work with Rain in bringing the first 5G network construction in South Africa. With our leading solutions, we are committed to working with operators and partners to build future-oriented networks for smooth evolution and migration for the maximum value out of their investment and the best user experience.”
Rain stated that it will continue to expand the 5G network to cover all the major metropolitan areas in South Africa with 5G networks to provide ultra-broadband services to homes and enterprises.
Roos, further noted, “Rain is excited to build South Africa’s first large scale 5G network which can provide fast wireless internet to more citizens. We are supportive of President Ramaphosa’s investment drive in the country and hope to contribute to readying South Africa for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”
