The Ecofin news agency and other sources say the company is spending 700 million rand (US$47 million), in addition to 500 million rand in 2021, and R270 million rand in 2020.
The money will be spent on expanding rural coverage and 5G infrastructure, said MTN.
Matthew Khumalo, MTN’s managing director for KwaZulu-Natal, said: “MTN’s investment in KwaZulu-Natal is part of plans to modernise the entire MTN network, 68% of which has already been completed nationwide [across South Africa], with an additional 1,350 sites to be finalised, and approximately 200 areas covered across the country by the end of 2022.”
KwaZulu-Natal, on the east coast of South Africa and centred on Durban, has a population of 11 million, about 20% of the population of the whole country.
Khumalo said: “We currently have over 900 active 5G sites across the country. With the aim of closing the digital access gap in South Africa, our goal is to reach 20% of the population by the end of 2022.”
