4G coverage coming to the coast

The mobile downloads speeds of Vodacom customers on the North Coast may double in the next year.

The network provider plans to upgrade a number of data sites on the North Coast of KZN which will be good news for clients who struggle to find a good connection.

According to Vodacom managing director Alberts Breedt, the company is developing 180 sites in the province with a focus on improving network coverage in rural areas.

The work will improve data coverage, meaning that many mobile customers will be able to access 3G connections more readily.

The second area of focus will be providing hi-speed data to more developed areas. The great news is that LTE coverage will be available in parts of the North Coast.

“LTE is basically 4G and it gives you much higher connection speeds, better coverage indoors and it does not suffer from cell shrinking,” said Breedt.

This means the area covered by LTE will not get smaller as more users begin to use LTE data.

Eleven sites will be upgraded to provide LTE services on the North Coast.

Customers will be pleased to know that the upgrade means better speeds for current 3G users, as mobile devices that can use LTE will switch to that connection, alleviating stress on the 3G network.

The upgrade effectively adds capacity to both LTE and 3G connections.

Alberts sees growth in the area, especially Ballito, as promising and the development of high-speed network coverage is a must.

Although the network provider has had trouble establishing new sites in residential estates, Breedt is confident that progress is being made.

“The challenge from our end is that even though people want coverage, they often do not want to live near cellular masts and we find it difficult to get approval for new sites. On top of that the space in estates comes at a premium,” said Breedt.

Despite the difficulty of establishing new sites, the benefits of LTE are quite significant.

Users can get up to 20 megabytes per second download speeds depending on how many subscribers are using the network.

“LTE is essentially three times faster than 3G,” said Breedt. He said if Vodacom had access to more frequency spectrum, the service could hypotheically give upload and download speeds of 70 to 80 megabytes per second.

Vodacom shares cell masts with other service providers, but each provider uses different radio antennae. LTE requires the latest radio antennae.

Overall Vodacom have spent over R200 million on radio equipment in KZN last year.