TINTSWALO BALOYI
JOHANNESBURG – MTN has launched the next generation of mobile network technology, Long-Term Evolution Advanced (LTE-A), in Gauteng and Western Cape.

The technology has been launched in Camps Bay (Cape Town), Moreleta Park (Pretoria) and at the Gautrain station in Rosebank (Johannesburg).

Krishna Chetty, Acting Chief Technology Officer at MTN SA said the introduction of this new technology was in line with MTN’s vision of leading South Africa into a bold new digital world and to keep up with continuous customer demands for higher network speeds.

“LTE-A allows us to prepare our networks for the digital age and the introduction of avante-garde digital solutions that are expected to come to the market in the future,” said Chetty.

The lack of critical high value spectrum has compelled MTN to re-farm existing spectrum to cater for the rollout of new generation networks such as LTE-A.

LTE-A is still relatively new and thus only a few high end devices are compatible with this network.

Many older smart devices support LTE.

“MTN wishes to encourage its customers to establish if LTE is activated on their devices as this will enable them to get better speeds. In addition, activating LTE on a smartphone also helps to move from 3G to LTE thus helping to create a more seamless network experience,” concluded Chetty.