Cell C to invest ZAR427m in Western Cape network in 2H15

South African wireless operator Cell C is planning to invest ZAR427 million (USD30.86 million) in its Western Cape infrastructure in the second half of 2015, with CEO Jose Dos Santos cited as saying: ‘Cell C has had ongoing capacity upgrades and new infrastructure rollouts across the region, which kicked off in earnest in June this year.’ Cell C’s Radio Access Network (RAN) upgrade project in the Western Cape region will see the outdated network equipment in the area upgraded and modernised by the end of November. When completed, 80% of all sites would be capable of supporting dual carrier (DC)-HSPA+ technology, while a total of 200 sites would be Long Term Evolution (LTE)-enabled. In addition, the operator is planning to continue to deploy 3G and LTE sites across the province in order to expand coverage and network capacity. ‘While we had only expected to begin LTE rollout in this region from 2016, the successful and timeous rollout of the service in Gauteng has meant that we can push our 4G rollout in the Western Cape forward,’ Dos Santos said.