MTN South Africa is making a bold play in Gauteng, the country’s most populous and economically vital province, with a R300 million ($17 million) investment aimed at upgrading its network infrastructure. The capital will fund new base stations, expanded 5G rollouts, and technical enhancements across more than 70 sites.
The move signals MTN’s intent to fend off mounting competition, especially from rival Vodacom, which is aggressively scaling its fibre and ISP offerings as part of a $2 billion acquisition of Maziv. MTN’s upgrades are part of a broader R4.5 billion ($251 million) national network expansion expected to wrap up by 2025, aimed at improving coverage and capacity for both urban and underserved rural areas.
Yet, the aggressive expansion comes amid slowing service revenue growth at home. MTN’s South African operations continue to face pressure, with single-digit growth in a market squeezed by rivals like Vodacom and Telkom—particularly in the price-sensitive prepaid segment.
The Gauteng upgrade follows a similar announcement last month, where MTN committed R480 million ($27.1 million) to network modernization in KwaZulu-Natal. These efforts highlight a defensive strategy to shore up its domestic stronghold.
Despite headwinds, South Africa remains a top-four revenue generator for the MTN Group, alongside Nigeria, Ghana, and Uganda. Infrastructure investments may be key to avoiding further retrenchment after MTN’s exit from three West African markets last year due to inflation and currency volatility.
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