Telkom Mobile, also known as 8ta, has confirmed that it has achieved ‘real world’ downlink transmission speeds of over 210Mbps on its trial Long Term Evolution (LTE) network in Cape Town. MyBroadband.co.za reports that the carrier achieved the speeds by utilising an LTE modem connected to its Time Division Duplex (TDD)-LTE network in a 4×4 multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) configuration, supporting dual-carrier (DC) functionality. The online journal also notes that Telkom has deployed 3GPP release 10 software – which contains some elements of LTE-Advanced technology – at the Cape Town International Convention Centre and the Westin Hotel, as part of its ongoing trial. A company spokesman explained: ‘We will be testing various beta versions until a final version is available for release in the bigger [LTE] network. We will deploy [this software across] the rest of the network once further testing has been completed – expected later in 2013 or [in] early 2014. Device availability supporting these LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) features will also become available over time’.
In related news, speaking at the LTE Africa Conference in Cape Town, Amith Maharaj, senior managing executive of Telkom Mobile, confirmed that the company has now deployed 1,000 LTE enabled base stations, 800 of which are commercially live, in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban.