MTN, Huawei fire up ‘Golden Band’ 5G trial at AfricaCom 2019

MTN and Huawei at AfricaCom 2019 demonstrated the potential of 5G technology in South Africa through a live demo.

The demo, consisting of one of Huawei’s 5G radios connected to MTN’s local primary centre in Tygervalley, Cape Town, hit download speeds of 1.6Gbps, and an upload speed of around 120Mbps.

This was performed using spectrum in what Huawei calls the “golden band” of around 3.5GHz, or what it believes to be the most ideal frequency for 5G.

MTN did however note that the spectrum was only allocated to the company for the duration of AfricaCom, and that the trial would be switched off after the conference.

The two companies on Tuesday also signed a memorandum of understanding to “assess and work on new technologies such as 5G and AI”.

“This trial demonstrates the capability of this new technology while giving customers a glimpse of what the future holds, showcasing the next generation of applications for consumer and enterprise customers,” said Giovanni Chiarelli, MTN’s CTIO.

MTN’s trial comes just days after Rain announced the availability of its 5G fixed wireless offering across Johannesburg and Tshwane.

Earlier this year, Vodacom switched on its trial of its 5G network alongside Nokia and LG at the Durban July.

Feature image: Andy Walker/Memeburn