MTN and Ericsson announced at the MTN headquarters in South Africa that companies will begin the first 5G technology and applications trial in Africa, which is part of a 5G demonstration starting in the first quarter of 2018.
The announcement comes after the two companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) at AfricaCom 2017 to collaborate on the rollout of 5G technologies in South Africa, one of the first of its kind in Africa. The 5G trial with MTN achieved a throughput of more than 20Gbps with less than 5ms latency, which is the highest achieved on a mobile network in Africa. The 5G trial is based on commercially available baseband hardware and 5G mobility is supported.
Speaking on the announcment, Babak Fouladi, CTIO, MTN Group said, “In collaboration with our partners we are continuously pushing the boundaries of how 5G can meet the diverse needs of our customers. 5G gives us the opportunity to rethink how our business can add further value to the lives of our customers.”
Seckin Arikan, Vice President and Head of Global Customer Unit MTN at Ericsson Middle East and Africa, said “Ericsson is the first to launch a 5G trial with MTN in Africa, supporting our strategy of delivering next-generation mobile broadband, cloud as well as providing support for massive Internet of Things (IoT) deployment.”
MTN has tested a range of 5G use cases and applications in its Test Lab proof of concept in South Africa, which will lead to commercial deployment in the near future. According to MTN, the company and its partners will continue to identifying 5G use cases and applications for the digital transformation of industries such as mining, transportation, agriculture, manufacturing and utilities.
