The telecommunications company Vodacom in the Eastern, says it is investing half a billion rand to network infrastructure renewal and resilience, especially in the rural areas of the Eastern Cape.
This was announced at the company's quarterly media roundtable in Gqeberha on Tuesday.
"Our approach is to first build on our infrastructure to ensure that we can unlock the many opportunities afforded by the latest technology, such as 5G, and deliver a quality network experience for all our customers. In some areas of the province, this investment will bring connectivity to communities for the first time, driving our ambition of empowering people in an inclusive digital society. One of the big focus areas for the region this financial year is to deploy more sites in deep rural areas of the Eastern Cape. Many individuals in South Africa's remote, deep rural areas lack internet access, which prevents them from taking advantage of the socioeconomic advantages of connectivity," says Zakhele Jiyane, Managing Executive for Vodacom in the Eastern Cape Region.
Provincial executive head of technology Nicollen Malatji says the investment is aimed at ensuring that their services are not affected by power cuts and vandalism.
He said Mthatha, Port St Johns, Komani, Matatiele, and more recently, the Buffalo City municipality were the areas where vandalism was most prevalent.
"Community and authority engagements are some of the routes we have taken to address the crime and vandalism in parts of the province but, we are also working to try and change the infrastructure to not contain any copper because that is what the perpetrators prefer," Malatji adds.
Vodacom management emphasised their focus on not only voice and data but also working with communities to provide much-needed relief.
That said, Vodacom Eastern Cape is addressing critical environmental-related challenges in the region, from providing water tanks in the Nelson Mandela Bay metro for Day Zero to partnering with the provincial government to donate R2 million to assist drought relief efforts.
Additionally, the region donated essential care packs and other items to those affected by recent floods in Kariega and Gqeberha.
