Here’s what you need to know about 5G in SA

Rolling out 5G means a lot more cellphone towers, and that takes time

Due to the radio frequency that 5G uses, high-frequency waves which enable faster data speeds but don’t travel as far, it needs more base stations to work. Existing cellphone towers can be upgraded but network operators will also need to build more infrastructure.

SA’s network operators have been battling the government to get 5G running

The big mobile operators have been struggling for years to get permission to use the parts of the radio spectrum that 5G is best suited for, but most of it has so far remained unassigned. The government is due to auction off blocks of the spectrum later this year.

South Africa’s 5G speeds are no slouch

Both Vodacom and Rain boast speeds of about 200Mpbs. However, as the technology improves, speeds will improve. Providers have achieved speeds of up to 700Mbps in testing and peak speeds can reach up to 1Gbps. Eventually the hope is to reach speeds of 10Gbps.