By Vodacom announced in a statement that it will be investing over R400 million in the Free State and Northern Cape during the current financial year.
The Central Region of the service provider will invest in the regions network to increase its capacity and resilience and accelerate access to connectivity throughout the province, particularly in deep rural areas.
According to Vodacom, it has made an investment of R1 billion to be carried out over a period of three years. Vodacom in the region spent half a billion in the previous financial year, in 2022/23 financial year, the network spent R340 million.
The company said in the R400 million investment, R250 million will be spent towards projects for radio access network, R150 million will fund transmission which includes the roll out of microwave and fibre for network capacity and upgrades in the current financial year.
The rollout will enable better connectivity and improved network speeds for the end user. Vodacom Central Region’s 3G population coverage is standing at 99.% and 98.2% for 4G.
Vodacom says the region will be rolling out over 30 new deep rural sites across the region this financial year to expand its reach and drive digital inclusion, especially in underserved areas of the province.
“In addition, the region will be rolling out more 5G sites this financial year. Some of the major municipal districts that stand to benefit from this roll-out include: Amajuba, Dr Kenneth Kaunda, Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati, Fezile Dabi, Frances Baard, Joe Gqabi, John Taolo, Mangaung Metro, Namakwa, Ngaka Modiri Molema, Pixley Ka Seme, Siyanda, Thabo Mofutsanyane and Xhariep District Municipalities.
Widespread loadshedding continues to affect the network in the region. To keep customers connected, Vodacom Central Region is investing over R120 million into energy projects, including the procurement of generators and increasing base station site power standby time. These upgrades will improve network capacity and availability, particularly during stage 4-6 loadshedding,” said Vodacom.
“The cost to communicate remains a critical issue for customers facing major economic pressures. Vodacom Central Region introduced personalised discounted voice and data offers such as Just4You, Just4You Town bundles for residents in certain Free State and Northern Cape towns from as little as R5 and bigger prepaid data bundles with Prepaid LTE to make connectivity affordable. As a result, more customers can affordably use data, and consequently, data traffic has grown by 33% in the province month on month over the past year.
In its purpose-led goal to build inclusion for all, Vodacom Central Region partnered with Qwakandaa NGO to contribute towards the sustainable development goals two (zero hunger) and thirteen (climate action). The region has supported the Qwakanda team to advance in their mandate of keeping the QwaQwa environment clean, providing food for several communities from the proceeds of the gardening activity. The region has also partnered with W&RSETA and several tertiary education institutions to create 100 internships and training opportunities for young graduates.
Last year the region in partnership with the Free State Department of Health, launched two cutting-edge digital health solutions that are aimed at providing patients excellent medical care in public hospitals across the Free State province. One of the solutions is called Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD), an efficient dispatching system built on benchmarked standards. The CAD provides users the amazing ability to track ambulance requests from the moment a call is logged, to the final delivery of the patients at their destination. The solution provides a transparent platform that effectively tracks ambulance movements, patient records, departmental resources and equipment utilisation,” concluded Vodacom.
