Partly state-owned Telkom joins big rivals Vodacom and MTN and smaller counterpart Rain in the 5G race as it wants to boost its fast-growing mobile data and fixed broadband business amid a growing demand for broadband.
“The COVID pandemic has brought about significant changes in the lifestyle of South Africans, due to working from home or home schooling, online shopping and an ‘always on’ culture,” said Fortune Wang, Carrier Business Director for Huawei South Africa.
5G, with its ultra high speed and low latency, will support new services for South African consumers, such as online augmented reality and virtual reality gaming, as well as ultra high definition streaming, while enabling enterprises to benefit from cloud technologies and artificial intelligence, Wang added.
“At launch, Telkom will primarily focus on delivering super-fast 5G fixed wireless access solutions, as demand for mobile 5G increases, we will complement this with suitable mobile proposals,” said Lunga Siyo, CEO of Telkom Consumer and Business.
Sulked in the north of the world due to security problems, which Huawei has denied, the Chinese company dominates in Africa as an equipment supplier to many telecommunications operators.