Vodacom has set aside R500m to expand and upgrade its network in the Western Cape in the financial year ending March 2027. Much of the spending is aimed at townships and deep rural communities, where coverage lags behind the province’s urban centres.
The radio access network, the masts and equipment that connect phones to the network, will take the largest share at R380m. More than 50 sites will be upgraded or replaced with new hardware, software and network architecture. They will also receive extra 4G capacity on 700MHz spectrum, a low-band frequency that carries signals further and penetrates buildings better than higher bands. This makes it suited to both sparsely populated areas and dense settlements.
New 5G sites are planned for Khayelitsha, Delft, Gugulethu, Langa, Mitchells Plain and Philippi, among other areas. The remaining budget, about R120m on the stated figures, covers new sites and energy resilience, including static generators and upgraded battery systems.
| Operator | Province(s) | Announced investment (2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Vodacom | Western Cape | R500m |
| MTN | Free State and Northern Cape | R480m |
| MTN | Limpopo | R332m |
| MTN | Mpumalanga | R281m |
Backup power remains a significant cost for operators even though load-shedding has eased. Vodacom says its sites are still affected by localised load reduction, cable theft, failures in municipal infrastructure and maintenance outages. The company upgraded backup power at sites in the previous financial year.
The investment comes as 5G coverage grows quickly but unevenly. Icasa’s State of the ICT Sector report found that 5G reached 58% of South Africa’s population in the 12 months to September 2025, up from 46.6% a year earlier and the largest annual increase the regulator has recorded. Urban 5G coverage in the Western Cape stood at 83%, behind Gauteng at 89%. In seven of the nine provinces, rural 5G coverage was below 35%. By contrast, 4G reaches 99.5% of the population, which is why operators are using 4G capacity upgrades to improve service in under-served areas.
The Western Cape is already the country’s most connected province at home. According to Statistics South Africa data for 2024, 44.9% of its households have fixed internet access, compared with 17.4% nationally. Mobile networks remain the main route online for most residents of the townships targeted by the rollout.
Waldi Wepener, managing executive of Vodacom Western Cape, said the company aims to improve the quality, reliability and reach of its network. He said better connectivity gives communities access to digital platforms for education, healthcare and financial services, and that faster 5G deployment will support new digital services in the province.
The Western Cape budget is part of Vodacom’s wider spending in South Africa. The company spent R11.87bn on its local network in the year to March 2026 and expects to spend about R12bn this year. Vodacom Group reported R23.6bn in capital expenditure for the year to March 2026, up 16.5%, and 237.3 million customers across its markets. South African service revenue grew 2.1% to R64bn.
Vodacom says the upgrades will increase capacity, improve call quality and data speeds, and reduce operating costs through better energy efficiency.
MTN has also announced provincial investments this year, totalling about R1.1bn across Mpumalanga, Limpopo, the Free State and the Northern Cape. Both operators are now publishing network budgets province by province.