Rain,
South Africa’s
mobile data-only network operator, says it has built the first 5G commercial
network in South Africa in partnership with Huawei, the leading global ICT
solutions provider. This move has made South Africa one of the first countries
in the world to launch 5G.
Rain
CEO William Roos made the announcement at the Mobile World Congress being held
in Barcelona, Spain. He said the network is already live, with testing
taking place, and they are aiming for a mid-2019 commercial launch.
Using
Huawei’s end-to-end 5G solutions, Rain has been able to build the 5G network
using its 3.6GHz spectrum. In the first phase of roll-out, Rain has deployed a
number of 5G sites in key areas in Johannesburg.
“The
network will provide fibre-like speeds without the installation complexities,
time delays and cost of laying fibre in under-serviced areas,” said Roos.
He
added that Huawei
had been an invaluable, trusted partner with innovative 5G solutions.
Last
year, Huawei launched a full range of 5G end-to-end product solutions, from
core network, the bearer network, and base station to terminals. It added
commercial devices launching its 5G foldable smartphone, the HUAWEI Mate X and
the HUAWEI 5G CPE (Customer Premise Equipment) Pro.
Apart
from deploying new base stations, Huawei’s
solutions enable Rain to fully leverage its existing LTE network and allocated
spectrum for 5G deployment. This approach of sharing facilities and leveraging
existing infrastructure will enable Rain to roll out the 5G network in a quick,
cost-effective manner.
“It
is an important step to work with Rain in bringing the first 5G network
construction to South Africa,” said Shi Jilin, President of Huawei Cloud Core
Network Product Line. “With our solutions, we are committed to working with
operators with our innovative solutions to build future-oriented networks where
they get maximum value out of their investment and the best user experience for
their customers.”
According
to the plan, Rain will continue to expand the 5G network to cover all major
metropolitan areas in South Africa with 5G networks to provide ultra-broadband
services to homes and enterprises.
Roos, further noted that, “Rain is excited to build South Africa’s
first large-scale 5G network, which can provide fast, wireless internet to more
citizens. We are supportive of President Ramaphosa’s investment drive in
the country and hope to contribute to readying South Africa for the Fourth
Industrial Revolution.”
MWC
2019 runs from February 25 to February 28 in Barcelona, Spain. Huawei showcases
its products and solutions at booth 1H50 in Fira Gran Via Hall 1, booth 3I30 in
Hall 3, the Innovation City zone in Hall 4, booth 7C21 and 7C31 in Hall 7. For
more information, please visit http://carrier.huawei.com/en/events/mwc2019
