The South African branch of MTN Group has said it will be investing significantly in its network equipment to help the country deal with the power outage that has been going on for months.
The cell phone company said that putting more than 20,000 batteries, 5,000 rectifiers, and almost 900 diesel engines in its sites across the country had increased the availability of its network by 15%.
The power cuts, which have been so bad and lasted so long that they have never been seen before, have messed up the lives and businesses of millions of South Africans and slowed down mobile networks that depend on electricity to connect people.
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It has been hard for MTN, Vodacom, and Telkom, as well as their rivals, to keep their networks up and running because of the frequent and unpredictable outages.
Charles Molapisi, CEO of MTN South Africa, said that the company was determined to win the fight against the power crisis and give its users a network they could count on.
According to him, the business had put R4.5 billion ($233 million) and R5 billion into its network to ensure its mobile network would work well during the worst power outages ever.
Molapisi stated that the business had improved over 5,000 network sites by adding backup engines, batteries, rectifier swaps, and more security to keep them safe from theft and damage. He said the company had built 2,000 new sites just in August.
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Utilizing Nigerian Knowledge
Since MTN has been present in Nigeria since 2001, the company has gained experience with the complexities of conducting business in an environment characterised by an inconsistent power grid.
MTN has altered its business practices to efficiently solve the frequent and protracted power outages that are a prevalent challenge in Nigeria.
Diesel generators have been an integral part of MTN’s energy strategy and have been successfully implemented in Nigeria. Even when the electricity was unstable, the role that these generators played in guaranteeing the reliability and resiliency of the network was critical.
Not only has MTN been able to keep its network services consistent due to its management of diesel generators in the Nigerian context, but the experience has also been highly educational for the company.