MTN Limpopo Steps up the Battery and Generator Deployment in the Face of Loadshedding

MTN Limpopo has announced that they have stepped up its battery and generator deployment with the rise in loadshedding and theft of batteries.

MTN South Africa is further stepping up battery and generator deployment to ensure its customers stay connected to SA’s best network. In the face on ongoing loadshedding and increasing theft of batteries from base stations, MTN is committed to keeping its customers connected while proactively working with the communities it serves.

MTN is focusing on sustaining and enhancing the resilience of its network, with the targeted deployment of additional infrastructure to counter the impact of Stage 4 and 5 load-shedding. In June and July, MTN reported a 24% average increase from the previous years on battery theft, however a major investment in battery backup, alternative generators and network modernisation is helping to largely protect MTN’s customers from the worst of the effects.

Mobile network operators across the country report a 250% increase in loss of generators during Stage 6 loadshedding, when criminals take advantage of depleted batteries and dark nights, to steal back-up power solutions, often breaking critical equipment in the process.

Numerous measures are being put into place to avoid disruptions and this is improving network stability across the Limpopo region despite the higher stages of load-shedding. says Kagiso Moncho, General Manager for Limpopo and surrounds says that even though South Africa is currently back on Stage 1 and 2, which helps with recharging the batteries that run the network towers.

We still face the issue of vandalism which impacts our network and service delivery to our subscribers.

Loadshedding is now part of our daily landscape so we are driving the rollout of new solutions that better protect our equipment, while keeping us a step ahead of the criminals. We are making good progress in this, thanks to heightened security and alternative back-up measures.

Kagiso Moncho, General Manager for Limpopo, MTN

While vandalism remains a concern in MTN’s Northern region, which comprises Hazyview, Thohoyandou, Polokwane and Mokopane, Moncho says other challenges are also coming from fibre breaks due to road projects, along with ongoing issues of batteries, generator and base station equipment theft.

We’ve set up a national ‘war room’ to isolate and manage incidents and preserve battery backup. We’ve hired additional temporary staff to assist with fault management, adopted a load-shedding contingency plan, implemented special network monitoring and hourly reporting processes. We continue to work fast to minimise the impact of load-shedding by deploying generators to keep critical hub sites up and to roll out batteries where needed to limit the damage and ensure our customers still get quality network coverage.

Kagiso Moncho, General Manager for Limpopo, MTN

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