Telkom’s rollout of 5G is picking up pace, with plans to increase its current footprint of testing sites six-fold in the next year. The operator told MyBroadband in February it had deployed 5G sites in selected areas and was optimising the user experience ahead of a commercial rollout.
In more recent feedback, Telkom confirmed a total of ten 5G sites were deployed nationally to test market propositions and performance. The operator said it anticipates the deployment of 50 more sites in the next year.
Telkom said its strategy for 5G was holistic and involved a number of considerations. It explained that currently, around two-thirds of its network supports LTE-Advanced connectivity.
The operator said it expects 5G access on its network to complement this and account for 25-40% of connections by 2026. The company has already upgraded its mobile core network to support non-standalone 5G radio technology.
This model of deployment allows for providing 5G services without an end-to-end 5G network by still using 4G for control functions like signalling. It will also rely on its access to spectrum in the 3,500MHz band to provide strong 4G and 5G coverage in more areas.
Source: mybroadband
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