Network providers report stability in connectivity despite hike in demand
Telkom, Vodacom, Cell C and MTN say they have been able to handle network demand load posed by the lockdown.
South Africa’s network giants had to improvise network connectivity as thousands of people, confined to their homes due to the Covid-19 lockdown, turned to the internet for productivity and entertainment.
Despite this hike in demand, the companies have reported stability in connectivity made possible by several improvements.
Telkom spokesperson Mooketsi Mocumi said the network provider recorded a 30% to 40% surge in data traffic from both mobile and fixed-line customers over the lockdown period.
Mocumi said Telkom had to improve its network connectivity to cater for the unprecedented increase in the demand across all device types during this lockdown period.
“We continue to monitor our network and are confident that the data-led design of our network will hold us in good stead to cater for the current and upcoming surge in traffic as well as an increase in data consumption.
“We are confident of the investment we have made in the resilience of our network,” he said.
MTN spokesperson Mthokozisi Ndlovu said the company had to rely on network maintenance, optimisation of the radio access network, transmission and core capacity management and load balancing improvements to cater for the increase in demand.
He said network capacity was constantly managed to meet the increase in localised traffic demand.
“For an optimal experience we encourage our customers to use long-term evolution devices which have 4G connectivity,” he said.
“To assist us in maintaining network uptime, we appeal to the public to report theft and vandalism of our infrastructure.”
Vodacom spokesperson Byron Kennedy said the temporary spectrum granted by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa a few weeks ago helped the provider to deal with the demand.
Kennedy said Vodacom also spent R500-million over the past two months to accelerate network infrastructure.
“The temporary assignment of the spectrum has helped to alleviate network congestion during the lockdown.
“It also allows us to add network capacity quicker and more cost-effectively than having to build new base stations.
Earlier this month Vodacom made a switch to be Africa’s first live 5G mobile network in three cities – Johannesburg, Pretoria and Cape Town – with further rollouts planned to other parts of the country, he said.
“The deployment of 5G will help Vodacom manage the increase in network traffic experienced during the lockdown.”
Cell C spokesperson Angela Nale said Cell C also observed an increase in overall data usage across the network since the start of the lockdown in March.
She said the network provider saw about a 20% increase in traffic volumes after the lockdown was implemented.
“In some cases, we saw a 500% increase in usage for heavy data users from prior to lockdown.
“Cell C continuously monitors the network traffic patterns and implement measures to manage traffic effectively between its own network and that of its roaming partners.”
Notice: Coronavirus reporting at Caxton Local Media aims to combat fake news.
Dear reader,
As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19.
Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za).
Do you have more information about the story? Please send us an email to editorial@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.
For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites:
For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram
