A cell tower: what is it?
Cell sites, commonly referred to as cell towers, are the locations where antennae and electrical communications hardware are installed, enabling the usage of wireless communication devices like radios and telephones in the local region.
When a wireless carrier or tower firm wants to increase the capacity or coverage of their network, they frequently build cell towers to improve the signal reception.
How it works
Every time a cell phone is used, it emits a radio frequency—a type of electromagnetic radio wave—which is picked up by the antenna of the closest cell tower.
The cell tower will send the signals to a switching center when it has picked up this signal. This enables a connection to be made during the call to either a mobile phone or a phone network. How everything takes place in a few of seconds is absurd.
Mobile operators in South Africa
MTN, Vodacom (primarily owned by the UK’s Vodafone), Cell C (75% controlled by Saudi Oger, a worldwide telecoms holdings group), and 8ta, a Telkom affiliate, are the four licensed mobile operators in South Africa. One of the highest rates in the world for mobile penetration in 2012 was predicted to be more than 10%. ] In 2019, 95% of people were using mobile devices.
Four cellular service providers dominate the South African mobile market: Telkom (Mobile), which is run by Telkom, Cell C, MTN, and Vodacom.
According to ICASA, the country’s mobile brand services are extremely consolidated because Vodacom and MTN own a combined 75% of the market share. In 2018, a brand-new service provider called Rain debuted, offering customers primarily data-only services.
Number of cell towers
One of Africa’s best-covered markets, South Africa has approximately 25,767 towers, which serve 97 million SIM cards, according to estimates from TowerXchange. The South African market is dominated by five MNOs: MTN, Vodacom, Telkom, Cell, and C-and Rain.
