MTN has confirmed that 500 of its sites have shut down due to the flooding that happened in some parts of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). The South African mobile telecommunications company said that the floods have caused a lot of damage to infrastructure and have caused power outages in the province.
“The flooding in the KZN region has caused power outages at many of our sites, and while we have battery back-up at many of the sites, these batteries have been depleted,” Jacqui O’Sullivan, MTN SA’s spokesperson, said.
Jacqui O’Sullivan, MTN SA’s spokesperson
Areas that have been impacted by the outage include Durban South, South Coast, Umlazi, Amanzimtoti, Ballito, and Salt Rock, according to the giant network provider.
O’Sullivan said that their major challenge is getting to the impacted areas at the moment because the roads are flooded.
The floods have also caused uproar on social media with a lot of pictures and videos of cars floating in the water. The hashtag #KZNFloods has been trending at the top of the trends list on Twitter on Tuesday.
“We know those affected need to be able to contact their families and friends. Access to connectivity is our priority and we are deploying all possible resources to assist,” O’Sullivan said.
O’Sullivan added that the company’s customers should rest assured that its technicians are working to restore connectivity in the affected areas.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry
In the face of overwhelming adversity and strife, it is a natural human emotion to withdraw from a crisis. Last night, as my executive team and I at MTN ended yet another crisis update, a wave of despondency hit me, and I said out loud, to no one in particular, “I have no more words.”
But that doesn’t help, does it? It doesn’t help to have no words. It doesn’t help to remain quiet, to focus only on what matters to my family and the business I happen to run.
Godfrey Motsa is CEO of MTN South Africa
As I write this, MTN South Africa has closed over 100 stores, mostly in Gauteng and KwaZulu Natal. Over 100 base stations are currently down, and our technicians can’t safely reach the sites for repairs due to the ongoing unrest.
Over 100 base stations are currently down, and our technicians can’t safely reach the sites for repairs due to the ongoing unrest
Over a thousand MTN employees can’t get to work and millions of calls and queries from our customers cannot be attended to as our primary call centre remains inaccessible.
MTN South Africa directly and indirectly creates employment for over 20 000 people but we are obviously not the only business going through this. The negative multiplier effect of halted business is further crippling our economy, which was just starting to show some small green shoots of recovery from the pandemic.
Solace
While the outlook has been bleak this week, I’ve found some solace reflecting on our roots, as MTN and as a nation. Our company was born out of South Africa’s democracy, which prioritised peace, diversity and inclusion over a history of division and hatred. We are a resilient people and while it might seem trite to say that “this too shall pass”, it’s true because we have been through tough times before.
We have confronted the most terrible of situations. We have emerged on the other side, battered and bruised, but having survived because South Africans made the conscious decision to choose peace over violence and dialogue over discord.
Consider some of the bleak situations we faced in the not-so-distant past. I look back at the political violence of the early 1990s as apartheid was crumbling and we were trying to usher in our hard-fought democracy. The townships were in flames, 500 people were dying every month, security forces were patrolling our streets, inflaming the situation and neighbours fought neighbours. Yet we kept our eyes on the prize and ensured that democracy was not derailed. Against the expectations of the whole world, we patiently stood in the voting queues and vanquished apartheid. It was hailed as the peaceful revolution. We did that.
A hoarding outside MTN South Africa’s headquarters in Johannesburg
Consider how close we came to civil war when Chris Hani was assassinated one fateful Easter Saturday. But instead of heading over the precipice driven by anger into violent insurrection, we weathered the storm and ensured the peace process held firm.
We are currently going through one of the bleakest times in recent memory. We need to focus on what is important for us to survive as a nation. We cannot destroy all that we have fought so hard for. We cannot undermine the achievements of our democracy.
The future of all South Africans, rich and poor, big business and small business, profit for not-for-profit, can only be built on that ethos of democratic resilience and fortitude that repeatedly ushered us away from the precipice of ruin.
South Africa’s future must be a country that belongs to all. We cannot be a nation of winners and losers, players and spectators
Now is a time for us to urgently reflect on what has gone wrong and how, as individuals and as one of the biggest companies and most respected brands in South Africa, we can ensure that we never fall into this pit of lawlessness and anger again.
South Africa’s future must be a country that belongs to all. We cannot be a nation of winners and losers, players and spectators. Education and digital infrastructure for all must be the foundation for a country that works for its entire people.
Future less clear
We cannot afford to be complacent. This time we must look at the devastating economic and social conditions under which the vast majority of South Africans are forced to survive and, instead of tut-tutting about the situation, embark with purpose on a strategy and actions for meaningful and sustainable change.
MTN provides services to, among many others, spaza shops, local hairdressers, small pharmacies and printers and other business services. But our commitment to those entrepreneurs, who are very often black owned and are carving out new businesses in previously underserved communities, is as unflinching as it is to our huge blue-chip clients. But the difference this week is that the blue chips know they will survive, while the future is much less clear for the rest.
As big business, we have a responsibility to further prioritise the support of small businesses and I am calling for an accelerated and coordinated effort, particularly in the ICT sector, to help small businesses. A successful and sustainable South Africa needs large and small businesses prospering side by side. This requires big business to send more work the way of small and micro enterprises and we must do this not to maximise B-BBEE points, but because it is one of the most impactful ways we can quickly reignite the economy. There is no time to waste. Many parts of the world are already shaking off the effects of Covid-19 and we cannot afford once again to be left behind.
At MTN, we have an unshakeable faith in South Africa. We continue to invest, to build a world-class communication infrastructure, to serve our 33 million customers and we will continue to work with our business partners, regulators, government and all our stakeholders. And we do so because we remain clear that the majority of South Africans are simply seeking to achieve the most basic of human endeavours, which is to give our children better than what we ourselves received.
I have lived in many countries across this continent. I have witnessed the scourge of violence and have seen the long crippling effects thereof. But I have also seen countries that have chosen peace, dialogue and inclusive growth emerge stronger. We have that. Whether it is communities clearing up debris or delivering food parcels to the needy, the relentless optimism of South Africans is already visible.
South Africa will survive; it always does. But as we emerge on the other side, battered and bruised, we must pledge that this will not happen again. Not on our watch. The time for action is now.
Godfrey Motsa is CEO of MTN South Africa
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry
Africa’s largest telecoms company Mobile Telecommunications Network (MTN) has joined forces with Ozow so that subscribers can purchase data and airtime directly through WhatsApp – an industry-first in South Africa.
Speaking on the development, Jacqui O’Sullivan, Executive of Corporate Affairs at MTN South Africa said that “Giving customers the ability to transact seamlessly on WhatsApp is a gamechanger in South Africa. It provides a seamless way to stay connected, in touch and in tune, while being simple and secure. Most importantly it will help improve financial and digital inclusion and enhance access for consumers.”
Jacqui O’Sullivan, Executive of Corporate Affairs at MTN South Africa
The service is provided within the MTN Chat platform, which was launched in 2019, to enable customers to initiate the purchase of airtime and data bundles within their WhatsApp chat.
Making actual payments via WhatsApp, however, is relatively new globally, having initially been tested in India in 2018 and officially launched in Brazil in June 2020.
“Our aim is to ensure South Africans do not miss out on major advances in technology and have the latest cutting-edge solutions at their fingertips so they can enjoy the full benefits of digital life,” says O’Sullivan.
“We are excited about partnering with MTN to make it even easier for customers to be able to safely purchase airtime and data directly from the WhatsApp chat on the spot, anywhere and at any time,” says Thomas Pays, Co-Founder and CEO of Ozow.
Convenience is expected to be a major benefit and to get started, subscribers just need the WhatsApp app on their smartphone.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry
A first of its kind ‘seamless and secure’ payment solution that allows users to make purchases using their airtime comes on-stream in South Africa courtesy of the new partnership entered into by Huawei technologies and MTN South Africa to launch Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) which will help unbanked customers to purchase online content and services.
With this solution, contract customers will now have the amount added to their monthly mobile phone bill, while prepaid customers will have the amount deducted directly from their available airtime. This means you can still pay for all your favourite offerings from Huawei Mobile Services without having to share your credit card details.
Ernst Fonternel, Chief Digital Officer of MTN South Africa
Speaking on the development, Ernst Fonternel, Chief Digital Officer of MTN South Africa says that it could not have come at a better time as “MTN recently reached 100 million active data customers across 21 countries in Africa and the Middle East. This shows that our customers are increasingly adopting digital offerings and we are continuously looking to meet this demand with fresh offerings that will add value to our customers,”
“We are proud to partner with Huawei to offer our customers the simplicity of purchasing from the various Huawei Mobile Services with Prepaid Airtime or Postpaid Add to Bill. As we continue to roll out our 5G network, we believe that the demand for smarter apps will increase and we want to ensure that our customers enjoy the benefits of a modern connected life in an easy, convenient and safe way.”
The DCB service on Huawei devices will first be available on the MTN network, and then will be rolled out later to other networks. The billing service offers customers a multitude of benefits, including:
Better conversion rates: DCB requires the device users to only enter their phone number to make a payment.
Smooth customer experience: DCB is convenient. There is no need to sign up for any additional accounts or fill out any forms.
Protected consumer identity: Making payments with DCB is secure. No personal data is transmitted during the payment process so there is no need to worry about identity theft.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry
A new report rating all telcos in South Africa has said that MTN is South Africa’s best mobile network in 2020. The Mobile Network Quality Report is based on 1.2 million speed tests which were performed by 41,000 MyBroadband Speed Test App users across South Africa between 1 January and 31 December 2020. The research shows that South Africa had an average download speed of 29.33Mbps and an average upload speed of 11.24Mbps last year. MTN had the highest average download speed at 52.84Mbps, followed by Vodacom on 29.39Mbps, Telkom on 21.58Mbps, Cell C on 17.46Mbps, and Rain on 11.90Mbps.
MTN
During 2020 the average network speed of South Africa’s mobile operators increased significantly despite higher data usage. This was made possible by a temporary spectrum which was issued to Vodacom, MTN, Telkom, and Rain by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) during the lockdown. Vodacom and MTN also launched 5G networks during the lockdown using the temporary spectrum.
There was, however, one operator which saw its download speed decline over the last year – Rain. The average download speed on Rain’s network declined from 15.20Mbps in the first quarter of the year to 11.41Mbps in the fourth quarter. This significant decline was a result of network congestion in areas where Rain oversubscribed its service.
To determine the best mobile network in South Africa, a “Network Quality Score” was calculated for each network using download speed, upload speed, and latency. The Network Quality Score out of 10 then shows how the network performed in relation to other networks. MTN reigned supreme in 2020 with a Network Quality Score of 9.86, followed by Vodacom on 6.17, Telkom on 4.87, Cell C on 4.35, and Rain on 4.35.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry
Africa’s leading telecoms company Mobile Telecommunication Network (MTN) says its Fifth Generation (5G) tests in South Africa using its first 100 5G high sites offering commercial 5G mobile broadband shows tremendous results. Company sources say that tests runs from the network achieved significant speeds at all locations visited, all well above 300Mbit/s and one close to 800Mbit/s.
To get an idea of the performance of the network, some of the reporters drove to various places in Johannesburg’s north-western suburbs where MTN said it has 5G coverage, including Northwold, Boskruin, Honeydew and Sundowner. (MTN also has coverage in the Bryanston and Fourways areas in Johannesburg, but they confined our testing to the north-western areas.)
Using a 5G-capable Huawei P40 Pro, supplied by MTN, to do the speed tests they recorded to enable “NR”, or “New Radio”, in the mobile network settings before we could get a 5G carrier. They used the Ookla’s Speedtest software which is the gold standard for testing Internet speeds, both mobile and fixed, they found that on Ookla’s Speedtest application for Android. All tests were conducted inside a stationary vehicle and the Ookla software was left to determine the best server to connect to.
The best download speed outside the Northwold Spar on Elnita Avenue in Randburg – 789Mbit/s – followed closely by a test at the Shell filling station on Taurus Avenue in Sundowner (783Mbit/s). We also achieved our best upload speed in Sundowner: 117Mbit/s. See our test results in the screenshots below.
Latency, or network round-trip times, was also very good, and akin to what one normally sees on fixed fibre broadband connections. Ping times were always less than 10ms in our testing. All these results go to show that the 5G network will truly shake things up when fully operational across the country.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry
