MTN Completes Africa’s First 5.5G Network Trial in South Africa

MTN Group has successfully conducted Africa’s first 5.5G network trial at its headquarters in Johannesburg, South Africa, in partnership with Huawei. This achievement comes four years after MTN South Africa launched its initial 5G network, which began with 100 sites in 2020 and has since expanded to cover 44% of the country.

5.5G, an advanced version of 5G technology, promises connection speeds 10 times faster than standard 5G. According to Huawei, 5.5G offers headline speeds of up to 10 gigabits per second, supports ten times the number of IoT connections, and drastically reduces network latency, enhancing the speed and responsiveness of mobile internet.

Rami Farah, MTN South Africa’s Chief Technology Officer, remarked, “The successful validation of 5.5G technology by MTN SA and Huawei is not just a technical breakthrough but also a testament to MTN’s ongoing pursuit of excellence. We look forward to more innovative solutions to continuously build the best network and deliver an enhanced experience for South African residents.”

Li Chen, Vice President of Huawei’s Sub-Saharan Africa region, emphasized the potential of 5.5G to bridge the digital divide, accelerate digital economic development, and usher in the mobile AI era across Africa.

In this trial, MTN achieved user speeds of 8.6 Gbps, demonstrating the immense potential of 5.5G for future applications. While the global number of 5G connections surpassed 1.5 billion in 2023, GSMA reports that 4G remains the dominant network in Sub-Saharan Africa, with 5.5G technology still in its early stages in the region.