The world’s first triple-band mobile radio unit that combines the 1800MHz, 2100 FDD and 2600 TDD frequency bands into one single radio unit has been installed. This advanced radio unit from Ericsson will enable Vodafone Egypt to reduce the cost of its 4G/5G network rollout in the country, the implementation time, energy consumption and tower load.
Vodacom, which acquired a 55% stake in Vodafone Egypt in 2022, invested R4.6 billion in its last financial year on growing and strengthening the network in Egypt to support increased demand.
“I am proud of the innovative work done by the team in Vodafone Egypt in driving Vodacom Group’s vision to build networks that are future-proofed, efficient and customer focused. Combining three bands across FDD and TDD in a single radio unit is a milestone in simplifying the engineering, deployment, and operation of our network,” says Dejan Kastelic, Group Technology Officer for Vodacom Group.
As of January 2024, Egypt's internet penetration rate was 72.2%, with 75.66 million internet users in January 2022. Egypt has the second largest online population in Africa. However, the country’s average internet download speed is amongst the slowest in the world.
“Vodacom is committed to providing solutions that contribute towards Egypt’s priority national development ambitions, including the Digital Egypt strategy, which comprises numerous national projects to achieve digital transformation and upgrade digital infrastructure”, says Kastelic.