As part of the $76 network upgrade project, MTN’s South Sudan very first of its 161 base stations has started functioning.
The other base stations will be functional by the end of this year and will include other upgrades of the existing towers, which add upto 147 which, and will have 3G coverage added to them.
MTN had previously split the network away from the main service in the rest of Sudan.
MTN South Sudan’s CEO, Philip Besiimire said the company was working with ZTE to modernize its existing network to make the telecommunication company the biggest network in South Sudan by the end of the year.
The company cited the difficulties in deploying towers in rural areas with a lack of necessary infrastructure or power supplies. They are also required to pay for equipment in US Dollars, which is proving difficult to rise in the local currency.
The company was only recently formally granted an operator license to keep its network by the new government.
