According to local news reports, operator Vodacom Tanzania is planning a number of technology modernisation programmes likely to involve an outlay of more than US$100 million.
This initiative – said to be one of the largest infrastructure investments in the company’s 25-year history – aims to transform connectivity, improve service quality, and expand digital inclusion in both urban centres and underserved rural areas, supporting Tanzania’s socio-economic growth over the next quarter century.
The ambitious plans involve thousands of network sites being upgraded across the country and significant enhancements to Vodacom’s IT infrastructure including its M-Pesa platform, resulting, the company claimes, in faster data speeds, improved call quality, more reliable M-Pesa services, and enhanced cybersecurity. Indeed, over 1,000 network sites have already been upgraded across the Lake Zone, Southern Highlands, and parts of central Tanzania.
This initiative is said to be part of the Vodacom Group’s Vision 2030 strategy for growth, but there is also, not surprisingly, a sustainability angle. In line with the Vodacom Group’s Net Zero 2035 ambition, the upgrades will introduce energy-efficient infrastructure that reduces power consumption by up to 30% while improving network performance and coverage. This will involve Huawei’s ‘zero-bit-zero-watt’ technology, which dramatically improves power efficiency while reducing carbon emissions, while at the same time enhancing performance for both 4G and 5G.
The company is also optimising tower space by introducing multi-band radio technology that accommodates all spectrums in one radio and combines multiple frequency bands in the same antennas.
The modernisation programme is aligned with Tanzania’s national digital transformation agenda and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Vodacom has not been the only telecoms group to announce network improvements in September. Earlier this month, as we reported at the time, the Tanzania Telecommunications Corporation (TTCL), announced plans to construct more than 1,400 communication towers across the country to strengthen national network coverage and support the digital economy.
