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Our performance
In South Africa
g
g
We have continued to extend our network coverage, reaching
more customers in remote and previously underserviced areas
with high-speed data coverage. We have extended our 3G
population coverage to 99.2% and our 4G coverage to 75.8%.
Our 2G network covers 99.9% of the population, the widest
network coverage in the country.
g
g
To further improve performance of our 3G network we have
enabled more than 85% of our 3G sites with 43.2Mbps dual
carrier technology and selectively re-farmed our 900MHz
spectrum by upgrading key 3G sites to U900, dramatically
improving coverage, data speeds and user experience.
g
g
Monthly drive-testing results for data performance on both 3G
and 4G indicate that the Vodacom network is superior in terms
of download and upload speeds (throughput). On voice-related
metrics such as drop call rate (DCR) and call setup success rate
(CSSR), the Vodacom network consistently provided the best
month to month results, against our competitors.
g
g
Although network availability overall has improved, we are still
experiencing challenges related to power, leased transmission
outages and vandalism.
g
g
We rolled out 4G+ in certain areas, with peak speeds exceeding
200Mbps. Further rollout of 4G+ has been constrained as a result
of the indefinite delay to the planned spectrum auction by
ICASA. Access to further spectrum is essential for us to optimally
rollout 4G+ and importantly future technologies such as 5G, to
meet the growing market demand for mobile data services.
g
g
As a result of the spectrum delays we have been exploring
other means to satisfy demand for mobile broadband access
in South Africa. We concluded an infrastructure-sharing
agreement with Wireless Business Solution (WBS) and signed
a non-exclusive roaming agreement, which will enable Vodacom
customers to roam on their network. This will lead to an
improved customer experience.
1. Competitive data based on estimates.
2. Source: Atio (March 2017).
33
Data coverage – 4G
1
76%
59%
41%
26%
■
Vodacom SA
■
Operator A
■
Operator B
■
Operator C
Network NPS
59%
40%
23%
■
Vodacom SA
■
Operator A
■
Operator B
Gap +19ppts
Benchmark data performance – 4G
2
■
Uplink speed (mbps)
■
Downlink speed (mbps)
9.0
17.1
8.2
15.0
6.7
11.6
4.1
7.4
Vodacom SA Operator A Operator B Operator C