Vodacom unveils South Africas first LTE service, but uncertainty about spectrum availability will hold up progress

AUT !"# T E$LA %&!'(UE South African mobile market leader Vodacom finally launched the countrys first LTE network last month, putting an end to a long period of speculation and putting South Africa back in the league of African technology pioneers. The launch came at a time when industry commentators and operators themselves seemed to have come to believe that LTE belonged to a distant and uncertain future in the country. LTE in South Africa has been awaiting the outcome of regulatory processes that even close observers have struggled to understand. ICASA has postponed its 2. !"#$spectrum auction a few times and has not released an updated schedule. The digital migration is on course% but delays in the process might challenge the IT&'s 2()* deadline for all countries to migrate all T+ platforms to digital. In the meantime% operators have started trials mostly in the ),((-"# band. IS. i/urst seemed to be in pole position% holding fre0uencies in suitable bands 1),((-"# and 2. !"#2% and had said it would launch in 2()2. I/urst's launch was first scheduled for )3)2 and then postponed to 2")2. Ii/urst has not yet unveiled its LTE services. Eventually% and against all odds% +odacom became the first operator in South Africa to launch LTE% overturning its own initial downbeat assessment of the prospects for LTE in the country. As recently as end$2())% then$+odacom CE4 .eter &ys said publicly that LTE was unli5ely to happen in South Africa in 2()2. It too5 a new CE4% Shameel 6oosub% and noises from -T7 about its own plans to launch LTE in 2()2 to spar5 some action from +odacom. %ar)eting e*ercise and patchy coverage I'm happy about the opportunity to at last comment on actual LTE networ5s in South Africa% rather than on potential launch dates. /ut I fear that we are still e8periencing mar5eting e8ercises% which% if not bac5ed by strong networ5 performances% will leave us with a lu5ewarm impression. 4n the other hand% the lac5 of spectrum 9 decried by operators% including +odacom 9 is still a problem. This could for the time being limit networ5$e8pansion plans and leave us with the patchy coverage e8perienced on :! networ5s. In any case% LTE launches in Africa so far have more to do with improving networ5 performance in some business hubs than promoting broadband for all. In the case of +odacom SA% the service is limited in terms of coverage but also in terms of usage% since it is available only to +odacom postpaid customers. +odacom's LTE networ5 is running on ),((-"# fre0uencies and is accessible via ;( enabled base stations% or less than )< of +odacom's base stations. The operator plans to have *(( enabled base stations by end$2()2. There is no e8tra charge to use LTE. +odacom intends to benefit from its +odafone affiliation and promote as many devices as possible. Si8 devices were available at launch% including one handset% the 7o5ia Lumia ,2(.

Vodacom buc)s +( branding trend /esides the launch itself% the branding of the service also came as a surprise. =hen% almost everywhere in the world% operators have associated their LTE brands with >!% +odacom has decided to drop the >! label and stic5 to ?LTE.@ This is a courageous move% with% according to Informa Telecoms A -edia data% , < of the more than B( LTE networ5s in operation being branded >!. It is also a cautious move% since the IT& recogni#es only LTE Advanced as >!. /ut there is an industry consensus to brand early LTE versions as ?>!%@ while the advanced versions would be branded ?True >!.@ This consensus is endorsed by the same IT&. If the standard$setter itself sends mi8ed signals% it is probably better to simply use the name of the technology. Avoiding the ?>!@ label could also become a safety option% should complaints about poor networ5 performance arise. A&!UT T E AUT !" Thecla -bongue is a Senior Analyst within Informa Telecoms A -edia's Industry Cesearch division and is a 5ey contributor to Informa Telecoms A -edia publications. In her role% Thecla is responsible for researching and analy#ing the telecoms industry in sub$ Saharan Africa. Thecla also manages =orld cellular Data -etrics% in which Informa trac5s mobile data usage and up$ta5e% including S-S and --S traffic volumes% mobile dataEbroadband subscriber information% --SC contract awards% mobile data deployments and non$voice revenues. A native French spea5er% Thecla is a regular spea5er and moderator at international conferences in Africa and is often 0uoted in the regional and global business press. Thecla will be a panellist and contributor at the upcoming AfricaCom 2()2 conference and e8hibition at the CTICC on the ): $)* 7ovember 2()2. GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG GGGGGGGGG %edia Accreditation , Africa$om -./): 9 )* 7ovember 2()2% Cape Town International Convention Centre

Should you wish to attend Africa om !"#!, please send an e$mail to eli%e&networ'pr.co.%a stating your full name, a (peg image of yourself, your publication)channel, your designation and your particular interest at Africa om.

******************************************************************* ********
About AfricaCom 2012 Africa om is Africas largest communications conference + e'hibition. ,ow in its #-th year, this trailbla%ing e.ent gathers together /,""" senior decision$makers from the telecoms, media and 0 T industries. This year a record !""1 speakers will share their .ision of Africas future communications landscape and the agenda has e'panded to incorporate ##

co$located e.ents which will attract new audiences from the apps de.elopment, broadcast and business sectors. 2or more info see3 www.comworldseries.comEafrica For more information% please contactH

Eli#e Engle eli#eInetwor8pr.co.#a (2) > ) ; > (;> ):2 :2**

Ja# "enderson 5a#Inetwor8pr.co.#a (2) > ) ; > (,2 ::B ))BB