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MTN eyes further network improvements

25th November 2016

By: Natasha Odendaal

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

  

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Continued network optimisation was on the cards for MTN South Africa, interim chief technology and information officer Babak Fouladi said earlier this month as he reported “visibly” improved operational efficiency five months into his tenure.

With its eye on key network priorities, MTN is planning to mimic the gains and improvements made over the past 12 months in the 2017 financial year.

Fouladi, who was appointed to the position in June, is responsible for ensuring the network operates at an optimum level and offers higher-quality services – from a customer perspective.

Addressing media during a briefing, he noted that capital expenditure for the improvement and expansion of the South African network reached R11-billion in 2015 and R4.7-billion during the first half of 2016.

Around 1 300 new physical sites had been deployed and 2 400 new third-generation sites installed. Further, fibre had passed 12 000 homes and 4 500 long-term evolution (LTE) sites – doubling LTE throughput – in the past 18 months.

“This is a great achievement; [however], you can put the stuff in the ground, but, if it’s not optimised, you won’t get the right results,” he pointed out.

Therein lay MTN’s targeted design principles focused on customer experience.

The group’s key network priorities were focused on network investments, deploying a customercentric strategy and approach, network growth and improvement and the adoption of an integrated strategy of continued investment.

MTN was now leveraging an enhanced customercentric model supported by improved network quality, capacity and speed, and guided by monthly drive tests and benchmarking, as well as key performance indicators.

The company also aimed to tackle challenges, including power- and vandalism-related outages, critical skills dependence and site acquisitions.

“We are excited abour the 2017 roll-out and what we have in store,” Fouladi concluded.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Magazine Managing Editor

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