- MTN and Huawei have successfully tested MTN’s first 5.5G network in South Africa.
- 5.5G or 5G Advanced promises even faster speeds and better network consistency.
- MTN says it can use 5.5G for holographic conferencing, enhanced 5G private networks and more.
Following the signing of a memorandum of understanding in June, MTN South Africa and Huawei said on Thursday that they have completed a successful trial of South Africa’s first 5.5G network, the next stage in 5G connectivity technology.
Huawei termed the technology 5G Advanced at MWC24 earlier this year, where it unpacked much about the new connectivity standard and what it means for Africa.
The trial of the network was conducted at MTN’s head office in Fairland, Johannesburg where the telecom leveraged technology from Huawei, specifically ultra-wideband antennas, hybrid beamforming architecture – which manages radio frequency signals – and other techniques to further increase the network bandwidth like Inter-FR carrier aggregation.
“The deployment of MTN’s 5.5G 10-gigabit experience will greatly promote the development of South Africa’s digital economy through connecting the unconnected and support the enhancement the lives of its people,” MTN explains in its announcement.
MTN was one of the first telecoms to launch 5G in South Africa, though it is rain that can claim to be the very first. MTN’s first 5G network, launched at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, was the largest of its like at the time, spanning 100 sites in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Bloemfontein and Port Elizabeth.
5.5G technology, as opposed to 5G which is now four years old for South Africans, includes improvements in internet speeds, network consistency and use-cases.
“In the 5.5G era, technological innovations will enhance network performance, increasing capabilities by ten times compared to current 5G technology. That means 10 Gbps headline connection speeds, 10 times the number of IoT connections, reducing latency by a factor of 10,” it explains.
“Networks also consume a tenth of the energy that they consume today on a per Terabyte basis, and through level 4 autonomous driving, making operations and maintenance (O&M) more efficient by a factor of 10.”
When deployed at scale, MTN says its new 5.5G network will help it improve its commercial services nd potential launch news ones for consumers, households, and enterprises. These potential new products include “24K Extended Reality (XR), High Speed Fixed Wireless Access (FWA), holographic conferencing, enhanced 5G private networks, and more.”
“The successful validation of 5.5G technology by MTN SA and Huawei is not just a technical breakthrough but also a testament to MTN’s ongoing pursuit of excellence,” enthused Rami Farah, MTN South Africa CTO stated.
“The joint release of 5.5G by MTN South Africa and Huawei, not only further deepens the strategic partnership between the two parties, but also fully fulfills Huawei’s responsibilities and vision in Africa: as a global ICT leader, bringing the most advanced technologies to Africa,” added Li Chen, Vice President of Sub-Saharan Region of Huawei.
Time will tell if MTN’s lofty 5.5G goals will become a reality or if they will go the way of many other promised use-cases of 5G – never living up to expectations.
[Image – Photo by Dena Skulskaya on Unsplash]
