From the Wild Coast to the rural heartlands of Qumbu, the Eastern Cape is rising, andMTN SAa is helping power the move forward. With a R220m mobile network modernisation and expansion drive, MTN is delivering a future where no community is left behind. More than 250 network sites have been upgraded, and new base stations have been deployed in 2025 as part of MTN’s mobile network modernisation programme, strengthening 4G coverage, accelerating the 5G rollout, and bringing world-class service to places long overlooked.
The mobile network modernisation programme is already transforming lives in over 90 rural communities. Residents who previously relied on patchy connectivity now have access to high-speed internet, enabling online education, telemedicine and e-commerce. To ensure that connectivity translates into real inclusion,MTN’s Smartphones4All initiativeis a key catalyst.
Through this programme, MTN identifies selected customers still using 2G or 3G devices and offers them an upgrade to a 4G smartphone for only R99, making quality devices more accessible to South Africans. This is not just a technology upgrade; it is a lifeline, powered by connectivity and access to smart devices, opening doors to education, healthcare, entrepreneurship and opportunity. The province faces some of SA’s toughest socio-economic pressures: However, it is MTN’s firm belief that where inequality disconnects people from opportunities, connectivity becomes a catalyst for hope.
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“For MTN, this is not just an investment in towers — it’s an investment in people. We are connecting the unconnected, unlocking potential and partnering with communities to build a better tomorrow,” says Songezo Masiso, GM: Regional Operations at MTN Eastern Cape. In the previously unserved rural villages of Libode, Lusikisiki, Mt Fletcher, Duncan, and many more, connectivity is transforming everyday life.
For example, a learner in Lusikisiki now revises for matric using the MTN Online School — a free educational platform offering quality learning tools aligned with the SA curriculum — instead of travelling kilometres for study resources. This is the reality when the world finally reaches rural communities. The MTN SA Foundation supports schools in the province with ICT labs and multimedia centres, zero-rated access to curriculum-aligned digital resources, and by enabling device access to disadvantaged learners through itsConnecting Every Childinitiative.
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