Vodacom is touting their upgraded network infrastructure of late, mentioning last month that they’ve added 293 new 3G and 473 LTE sites to the country in recent months. This is part of a larger plan to expand coverage in South Africa across the board, from rural areas which need data access to greater LTE availability, and they’ve just detailed their plans in that line for Gauteng.

According to Vodacom Gauteng’s Managing Executive for Operations Shane Hibbard, “…in excess of R1 billion has been earmarked for network investment in Gauteng in the current financial year.”

Of the earmarked total, an unspecified but “large” portion will be used to upgrade 3G coverage in townships in the area, with a province-wide addition of 400 new 3G sites being expected to be in place by March next year.

“This means that we’ll be bringing improved data services to thousands of people who currently only have voice services and limited data services,” said Hibbard. “More specifically, the upgrade will increase network capacity and provide improved voice quality and mobile data speeds in areas such as Soweto, Orange Farm, Alexandra, Thembisa, Mamelodi, Atteridgeville and Soshanguve.”

“The areas we’ll be focusing on increasing LTE coverage are the business hubs and urban areas such as Pretoria, Bryanston and Rosebank as well as in the major townships.”