The first-ever high-demand frequency spectrum auction, a tussle for Telkom, and a big step towards rescuing Cell C were among the most significant events in the South African mobile network industry in 2022.
While mobile networks were not exempt from the negative impacts of the pandemic, the telecoms industry benefitted immensely from the increased demand for connectivity in 2020 and 2021.
2022 has seen a return to a more normal socio-economic situation, reducing the need for cellular-based communication services.
Rising inflation has also put pressure on consumer spending on mobile products.
These factors negatively included the financial performance of the mobile networks, particularly towards the end of the year.
Nevertheless, the country’s five biggest mobile networks — Vodacom, MTN, Telkom, Cell C, and Rain — rolled out new products and improved their contribution to the country in some way or another.
We asked them what they considered to be their most significant achievements and challenges in 2022. Below is what the networks had to say.
Vodacom
A Vodacom spokesperson said the operator’s acquisition of radio frequency spectrum during Icasa’s auction was one of its biggest achievements.
It will use the spectrum to improve network coverage, speeds and quality, while ramping up its 5G rollout.
Regarding specific products, Vodacom said it launched Home Internet packages designed to provide customers with a “fibre-like” experience for the home, especially in underserved areas.
In a first for South Africa, it also rolled out a National Relay Service (NRS) in 2022, expanding its offerings for deaf, hearing- and speech-impaired customers.
The NRS allows prepaid and postpaid customers who are deaf and use South African Sign Language (SASL), are hearing-impaired, or have speech difficulties, to place a call to any hearing person via specially trained Relay Officers.
These officers act as a central link on the call and facilitate communication between the NRS user and the called party.
In addition, Vodacom launched its Get-a-Gig platform, aiming to connect 1 million young people to jobs or gig opportunities by 2024.
Available through ConnectU, it matches a jobseeker to a job or an opportunity within Vodacom and its external partners.
Vodacom’s biggest operational challenge in 2022 was load-shedding, and it spent billions trying to keep its network online during these outages.
“For the six months ended 30 September 2022, we invested a record R5.8 billion in our network — the most in a six-month period — to further enhance the customer experience at a time when the country experienced record levels of power outages, ” they stated.
As part of its efforts to reduce its carbon footprint, Vodacom has secured an in-principle agreement with Eskom to pilot a program that would see its South African operations source all its electricity from renewable independent power producers.
Excess energy will also be added to the national grid.
MTN
MTN South Africa’s executive for corporate affairs and sustainability, Jacqui O’Sullivan, said the operator made significant strides in its network investment and product innovation in 2022.
The company spent over R6 billion in South Africa on modernizing its network during the year.
It also became the first mobile network in the country to reach 1,000 5G sites.
By the time of publication, MTN had increased this to over 1,400 sites — including all the major metros and several smaller towns.
At a product level, O’Sullivan said MTN launched more affordable data packages aimed at bridging the digital divide and reducing the cost of communicating.
“These include the launch of MTN New Bonus which guarantees new and existing customers double value,” she said.
MTN also invested heavily in its load-shedding backup infrastructure, deploying new batteries to 3,323 base stations.
Other achievements noted by O’Sullivan included:
- Securing radio frequency spectrum during Icasa’s auction.
- Getting named South Africa’s most admired brand by Brand Finance 2022.
- Named Best Mobile Network in MyBroadband’s Network Quality Reports throughout 2022.
- MTN Pulse youth portfolio reaching 2 million subscribers in August.
- MTN Foundation investing R28 million with a focus on digitization of education, skills development, developing entrepreneurs, along with project support specifically focused on women and the youth in Information and communications technology (ICT).
- Achieving the #1 Net Promoter Score among telecoms.
Telkom
Telkom said much of its 2022 success was down to the outcomes of the spectrum auction.
“Telkom’s total spectrum portfolio now stands at 184MHz across all bands. Despite our reservations about the spectrum auction, 2022 has been a milestone year,” the company said.
Telkom noted that it acquired valuable sub-1GHz spectrum.
“Not only was this an achievement in itself, but we successfully migrated the spectrum from temporary frequencies that were assigned under the state of disaster to the newly assigned frequencies,” Telkom said.
In addition, the operator acquired a further 22MHz of 3.5GHz spectrum next to its existing 28MHz.
“This is important because, for 5G, we need one contiguous spectrum for efficient deployment of the spectrum,” Telkom said.
Telkom launched its 5G network in November 2022 and had deployed over 190 sites at the time of publication.
“We have 136 active 5G sites in Gauteng, Western Cape, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, and this is just the beginning,” Telkom said.
The operator also highlighted the establishment of the Economic Sabotage of Critical Infrastructure (ESCI) forum alongside Eskom, Transnet and Prasa as a major milestone.
The initiative aims to combat damage to and theft of critical infrastructure, like copper cables, with direct costs per annum estimated at over R7 billion.
Other Telkom achievements included an “Excellent” recognition at the EY Excellence in Integrated Reporting Awards for 2022 and being named the “Coolest Telecommunications Provider” at the Sunday Times GenNEXT awards.
Cell C
Cell C finally completed a long-awaited recapitalization transaction to slash its debt with the hopes of returning the troubled operator to profitability.
“The recapitalization was the final pillar in Cell C’s turnaround strategy and serves as the enabler for the business to execute on its new operating model,” Cell C stated.
“The recapitalization transaction was complex and took considerable time to finalise, owing to the complexity of the transaction and the stringent steps that were necessary for the business to prepare itself to become a business that is fit-for-purpose and sustainable.”
Cell C also made progress on decommissioning its own radio network infrastructure, another cost-cutting initiative.
The operator will instead rely on “extensive” network agreements with Vodacom and MTN to provide national and “like-for-like” network coverage.
Recently, Cell C said its recently-appointed CEO, Lerato Pule, would help chart a new course for Cell C to become a digital lifestyle company.
Cell C also secured spectrum at the auction in March.
rain
Rain said his most significant achievements were acquiring frequency spectrum in the 700 MHz and 2,600 MHz bands to improve its network.
The youngest mobile network operator in the country also expanded its 5G network to cover over 7 million households across the country.
Finally, Rain said he was proud to have sponsored the Rugby World Cup Sevens as an official partner.
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