In a collaboration effort between Vox Telecom and MTN South-Africa, local South African SME’s will have a powerful new wireless technology deliver fast, cost-effective and reliable connectivity even to rural areas.
Tarana Wireless, a US based technology infrastructure solutions provider, has developed a system that combins multiple antennas and radios, innovative algorithms, to deliver the industry’s first truly viable commercial 5G wireless technology. The company’s products have been proven in numerous Tier 1 mobile and fixed operator deployments. They provide advanced wireless performance and autonomous adaptation that significantly improves deployment cost and flexibility for fixed and mobile access, as well as a wide range of fibre extension applications.
Vox South Africa, will be leveraging MTN South-Africa’s Fixed Wireless Access network using the cutting-edge Tarana technology, to provide a high-speed internet connection that doesn’t require direct line of sight between the transmitter and the receiver. This will be the first Non-Line-of-Sight (NLoS) wireless system in the country.
The Challenge of reliable fast connectivity
It’s relatively easy to connect radios in clear and stable lines of sight, but in the real world of the last mile, line-of-sight (LoS) is often not possible. Buildings, geographic features, foliage, and other structures abound, especially in residential neighborhoods. This non-line-of-sight (NLoS) problem requires a robust solution for successful wireless system design. The inherently poor propagation of the mmWave bands being explored for 5G requires very short LoS links, precluding a viable solution to NLoS for fixed access in these bands.
The new service that VOX and MTN is launching will be able to easily operate in areas that are considered challenging or that have had to deal with limited connectivity due to obstacles.
SME’s to Benefit
“The solution is ideally suited for the small to medium business,” says Nikita Appelman, Product Manager for Wireless at Vox. “For companies that don’t have access to business fibre, our collaborative solution with MTN South-Africa offers them a reliable primary service that’s cost-effective and fast. This can also be a reliable redundancy option for customers that experience outages on their primary Fibre connectivity. This service offers an incredible connectivity solution with superb coverage and market traction.”
Connectivity is an invaluable asset that ensures companies can leverage next- generation communication and collaboration tools to engage with customers and the global market. Vox is leveraging this solution from MTN South-Africa to provide customers with scalability and flexibility through primary, temporary, temporary to redundant, and redundant services to SMEs.
Fast Installation & Fast Speeds
“Compared with a fibre installation, this solution is measurably faster to install,” concludes Appelman. “Companies can be installed on the network quickly and immediately feel the benefits. With long-range and high capacity, the Tarana technology – currently one of the best on the market – has coverage in most urban areas and selected rural environments. The range extends into the kilometres, and provides broad coverage.”
MTN South-Africa’s collaboration with Vox is anticipated to provide exceptional connectivity reliability and speeds to South African customers. According to VOX, pricing is to start from as little as R 900 excl VAT a month, making the broadband service is affordable for the South African SME market
