Vodacom Demonstrates Africa’s First 5G Live Data Session Ahead of Official 5G Spectrum Allocation for Commercial Use
South Africa’s big league horseracing event Vodacom Durban July took place over the weekend. And the tech giant used the opportunity to demonstrate Africa’s first live 5G data session on a commercially ready 5G mobile phone and network in partnership with Nokia and LG.
The South African mobile operator demonstrated the continent’s first hologram transmitted over a commercially ready 5G phone. In addition, it streamed live karaoke performances of guests at the Vodacom paddock.
A temporary spectrum license from Icasa (Independent Communications Authority of South Africa) powered the transmission. The feat was done using a Nokia AirScale 5G radio network solution and an LG V50 ThinQ 5G commercially ready smartphone.
To better reach all parts of Africa, huge consumer-oriented collaborations are necessary between carriers and makers of 5G ready smartphones
LG South Africa’s Deon Prinsloo stressed the importance of joining forces to speed up the proliferation of 5G enabled operations on the continent
Strong collaborations will be required to accelerate 5G commercialization on the continent, and LG is ready to be a key player when 5G service becomes widely available in the region. Once the spectrum is allocated, LG will introduce a range of leading 5G mobile phones ready to usher in a new era of connectivity in Africa.
Deon Prinsloo mobile GM at LG South Africa
In the meantime, while Vodacom awaits the allocation of the required 5G spectrum in South Africa, the company is excited about the possibilities of the 5G network.
Reduced latency, better battery life due to faster downloading, uploading and internet connectivity times are some of the things to expect in Africa with the commercial release of the 5G network.
