As South Africa’s power grid crumbles, leaving the country in the dark for up to 10 hours a day, mobile operators including Vodacom, MTN and majority state-owned Telkom are scrambling to ensure their networks stay up and running
Vodacom - majority owned by London-listed Vodafone
Companies concentrate those extra resources on high-revenue sites, mainly in larger metro areas, officials said. But even city residents struggle when hours-long outages outlast backup measures. Vodacom is also expanding battery use and installing solar panels at sites where space allows, Mdlalose said."We'll probably slow down on advanced CAPEX-related portfolios like accelerating 5G," MTN Group Chief Financial Officer Tsholofelo Molefe told Reuters.That risks delaying South Africa's pivot to the digital economy and could leave rural areas, which already suffer from sparse coverage, lagging even further behind.The challenges aren't simply financial.
MTN did not share data on its overall losses to criminal activity but said it's witnessed a sharp rise in incidents, including cable and battery theft. It will begin placing some battery systems inside concrete bunkers.MTN is seeking a temporary relaxation of visa regulations to bring in foreign technicians including from Nigeria, where towers are heavily reliant upon diesel generators, Mupita told MTN's investors.
Telcos also want the same fuel rebates enjoyed by the agriculture and mining sectors, according to Nomvuyiso Batyi, CEO of the Association of Comms and Technology.
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