South Africa 5G base station electricity subsidies

4 FAQs about South Africa 5G base station electricity subsidies

Which companies are deploying 5G in South Africa?

Major telecom operators like Vodacom, MTN, and Rain have been rolling out 5G services across various cities 1 . )As to SA 5G networks, the deployment is still in theearly stages. Most of the current 5G networks in South Africa are non-standalone (NSA), which means they rely on existing 4G infrastructure for certain functions.

Is 5G a good investment in South Africa?

5G investments are proving slow to pay off. However, home broadband and enterprise applications hold big promise. The relative stability of the power grid, following the worst year of load shedding on record in 2023, has given South African mobile operators more financial room to up their investments into expanding their 5G networks.

Is South Africa ready for 5G?

)As to SA 5G networks, the deployment is still in theearly stages. Most of the current 5G networks in South Africa are non-standalone (NSA), which means they rely on existing 4G infrastructure for certain functions. However, there are plans to transition to SA 5G, which will enable more advanced features and better performance.

How many 5G sites are there in South Africa?

The freeing up of capex budgets since has led to dramatic improvements in South Africa's 5G capacity. Vodacom South Africa told TechCentral that the number of 5G sites in its network doubled from 1 150 in 2023 to 2 299 in 2024. As of 31 March 2025, Vodacom had 3 063 5G sites across the country.