MTN South Africa is a telecommunications network based in South Africa, originally established as M-Cell in 1994 with support from the South African government. The company underwent leadership changes in 1995, with Robert Chaphe and founder Leena Jaitley taking the helm. In 2001, it was announced that the controlling shareholder was Johnnic Holdings, with Irene Charnley as chairperson. By 2002, Phuthuma Nhleko stepped in as CEO, replacing Paul Edwards who had invested in expansion to Nigeria. MTN South Africa's ownership has seen changes over the years. In 2012, South African holding company Shanduka Group acquired a minority stake in MTN Group's Nigeria business for $335 million. In 2014, MTN was recognised on the 2014 BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brand rankings and named the Most Admired and Most Valuable Brand in Africa. Leadership changes continued in 2016 with the appointment of Rob Shuter as CEO, who was later replaced by Ralph Mupita in 2020.
Alias
Mobile Telephone Networks (Pty) Ltd.
Country
South Africa
Type
Network Operator
Ownership
MTN Group
MTN logo

3G Network

The company launched its 3G network in March 2006 over the B1 (2100 MHz) band. The network closure has been announced for December 2025.

Network Frequency Band Status
B1 (2100 MHz)
Active
Date Event Subtype
Launch of 3G Network
Launch

4G Network

The company's 4G LTE network was launched in December 2012 using the B3 (1800 MHz) band. The network was expanded with B1 in March 2016 and B8 in May 2018. NB-IoT services were enabled in May 2018 using the company's B8 band.

4G Frequency Bands
Network Frequency Band Max. Channel Bandwidth Status
B1 (2100 MHz)
15
Active
B3 (1800 MHz)
10
Active
B8 (900 MHz)
5
Active
Date Event Subtype
Launch of 4G Network
Launch

5G Network

Launched in June 2020, MTN delivers 5G connectivity on the n78 (3500 MHz) band at 58 sites including Johannesburg, Cape Town and Bloemfontein, as well as using re-farmed n1 (2100 MHz) and n3 (1800 MHz) bands at a further 35 sites. The operator is re-farming some 4G spectrum to allow it to run 4G and 5G services at the same time, in the same band. This allows for easier migration of network technology from LTE to 5G and allows the company to deploy 5G using existing spectrum assets in the absence of additional high demand spectrum.

In addition, the company is using the n28 (700 MHz) band at five sites for extensive coverage in small towns, including Port Alfred, Hopetown, Virginia Queenstown, and Tsantsabane.

The South African operator is also deploying 5G in the n257 (28 GHz) band at three sites in Hatfield (Pretoria), Edenvale and Durban. The company's 28 GHz 5G network is reportedly capable of 630 Mb/s DL 130 Mb/s UL data rates.

Network Frequency Band Max. Channel Bandwidth Status
n1 (2100 MHz)
15
Active
n3 (1800 MHz)
10
Active
n28 (700 MHz)
10
Active
n78 (3500 MHz)
50
Active
Date Event Subtype
Launch of 5G Network
Launch