Vodacom aims to keep rural Eastern Cape connected

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Eastern telecommunications company Vodacom says it is investing half a billion rand in network infrastructure renewal and resilience, particularly in rural areas of the Eastern Cape.

This was announced on Tuesday during the company’s quarterly conference in Gqeberha.

“Our approach is to first build on our infrastructure to ensure we can harness the many opportunities of the latest technology, such as 5G, and deliver a quality network experience for all our customers. In some parts of the province, this investment will bring connectivity to communities for the first time, fueling our ambition to empower people in an inclusive digital society. One of the big focus areas for the region this financial year is to deploy more sites in deep rural areas of the Eastern Cape. Many people in the remote, deep rural areas of South Africa do not have access to the internet, preventing them from enjoying the socio-economic benefits of connectivity,” said Zakhele Jiyane, Managing Executive for Vodacom in the Eastern Cape region.

Nicollen Malatji, the province’s chief technology officer, says the investment is to ensure their services are not affected by power outages and vandalism.

He said Mthatha, Port St Johns, Komani, Matatiele and more recently the Buffalo City Municipality are the areas where vandalism is most prevalent.

“Community and authority involvement are some of the ways we are tackling crime and vandalism in parts of the province, as well as trying to change infrastructure to remove copper, which is what offenders prefer,” Malatji added.

Vodacom management stressed that they are not only focusing on voice and data, but also on working with communities to provide much-needed relief.

Vodacom Eastern Cape is also addressing key environmental challenges in the region, such as installing water tanks in the Nelson Mandela Bay metropolis for Day Zero and working with the provincial government to donate R2 million in drought relief.

In addition, the region donated essential care packages and other items to victims of the recent floods in Kariega and Gqeberha.