Tag Archive for: Cellular Industry

Andrew Stegmann

Mobile Operator MTN Plans to Launch 5G Services in South Africa by End June

MTN has confirmed to Business Insider South Africa that it is launching its 5G network in major cities “across the country” but the exact locations are still “confidential”.

To date, only Vodacom has a 5G network in more than one region, as it is active in Cape Town, as well as Johannesburg and Pretoria. Data-only network Rain is only available in Gauteng.

The company announced this week that it is planning on launching its own 5G network at the end of the month.

MTN had initially planned to launch at the start of June, but encountered “delays in bringing some equipment into the country.”

The company has also confirmed that, like Vodacom, it will be using emergency spectrum allocated by the government to provide 5G services. In April the government allowed access to some of the radio frequency spectrum best suited to 5G on an emergency basis to help fight Covid-19. The allocation is to help the operators cope with demand. The catch is that operators only get access until November, or until the end of the state of emergency.

The company has, as yet, not indicated how it will offer 5G services that are not using the emergency spectrum allocation.

MTN outed itself in the latest issue of its Y’Ello magazine, in which it is running a promotion for 5G connectivity using Huawei’s recently launched line of P40 smartphones. Along with the LG ThinQ, these are currently the only smartphones in the country capable of using 5G services.

Technically, the pricey Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra also uses 5G, but Vodacom and MTN have not indicated whether they will support it.*

The big mobile operators have been struggling for years to get permission to use the parts of the radio spectrum best suited for 5G. The government is due to auction off blocks of the spectrum later this year.

Only two networks, Vodacom and Rain, have been able to offer 5G services, and both have achieved it by working around government regulations.

Vodacom recently announced a deal with Liquid Telecom to use their 5G network. Liquid owns the parts of the spectrum that formerly belonged to Neotel. In the case of Rain, they’re repurposing the parts of the spectrum formerly used by iBurst after they bought parent company WBS.

This article was updated to reflect MTN’s confirmation of offering 5G services across the country, the use of emergency spectrum, and the availability of another 5G-capable phone in SA, the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra.

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].

Andrew Stegmann
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New Mara Group Cell Phone Factory Opening in South Africa

Efforts to revive South Africa’s sluggish economy and create much-needed employment are set to receive a major boost with the launch of Mara Phone’s first cell phone manufacturing plant in South Africa.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, as part of the recently launched District-Based Development Model, will later this week launch the Mara Phone Plant at Dube Trade Port in KwaZulu-Natal.

During South Africa’s inaugural Africa Investment Forum in November last year, company founder and Chief Executive Officer, Ashish Thakkar, 38, announced that his company would invest R1.5 billion in a South African business venture over the next five years. Almost 11 months later, the Rwanda-based Mara group has made good on its promise.

The modern state-of-the-art plant, with an annual production capacity of over 1.2 million handsets, is expected of manufacture two models of smartphones – the Mara X and Mara Z. The company plans to launch upgraded versions annually.

According to the company’s website, The Mara X costs $179 (approximately R2,683), and the Mara Z costs $254 (approximately R3,806). Both phones have 720x1440p HDR-capable screens utilizing Corning Gorilla Glass. The cheaper Mara X has a MediaTek MT6739 quad core processor, 1GB of RAM, and 16GB of internal storage, as well as a fingerprint reader. It runs Android Go (a lightweight version of Android). The more expensive Mara Z has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 processor, 3GB of RAM, and 16GB of internal storage, as well as both a fingerprint reader and facial recognition for unlocking, and runs full Android. The Mara Z is part of Google’s Android One program, which provides a manufacturer unalterable version of near-stock Android, as well as 3 years of frequent security updates, and 2 years of operating system updates.

The venture will generate hundreds of high-skilled direct jobs and thousands of indirect jobs. It will contribute to the transfer of technology and high-tech knowledge in South Africa. On its Twitter account, Mara Phones said more than 60% of the staff at the plant are women while 90% of the workforce will be youth.

Mara Z smartphone.

The production is expected to serve the domestic market as well as the regional market, especially the SADC region, contributing to strategies that position South Africa as the gateway to Africa.

Given the location of the operations, Mara Phones will be designated as a local product once production commences. Promotion will be conducted through a mix of traditional and digital/online media while utilising local platforms to influence local markets.

The phones are expected to be listed on commerce sites such as Jumia, Konga, and Amazon. The company also plans to sell the phones via retail partnerships with telecom operators Vodafone, MTN and Airtel.

Addressing reporters at the Investment Forum last year, Thakkar said his company had plans to develop the phone in plants across the continent’s five regions.

Mara Group founder and CEO Ashish Thakkar (right), with Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), holding replicas of the new Mara smartphones to be produced in South Africa, during a AfDB event in 2018.

“We all know the importance of high quality and affordable smartphones and the impact this can have on the continent. Quality smartphones mean we can truly enable financial inclusion, micro-lending and micro-insurance. This can translate into better education, digital healthcare and agriculture efficiency and improve commerce.

“If this is all going to be possible… we [need] quality and affordable smartphones. Unfortunately, we have quality smartphones but they are not affordable and if it is affordable, it is not quality,” he said at the time.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email marketing@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].