MTN data usage doubles over lockdown period
by TINTSWALO BALOYI
JOHANNESBURG – MTN, just ranked the best performing network in South Africa in the second quarter of 2020, has reported that traffic data has more than doubled from the same period last year.
This is attributed to the coronavirus (COVID-19) as many businesses adopting a work-from-home policy.
Data consumption has increased on both prepaid and post-paid.
“The consumption trends we are seeing, including significant traffic
growth across social media platforms and video streaming services are a testament to the amount of time consumers are currently spending online,” said Jacqui ‘O Sullivan, Corporate Affairs Executive: MTN SA.
“Through it all, our network has remained stable throughout April, May and June, thanks in no small part to the continuous end-to-end
monitoring of network capacity across our entire operation.”
MTN has recorded a spike in social media data consumption, particularly Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Video streaming platforms, such as YouTube, Netflix and DSTV have also seen a significant spike, as has gaming data consumption.
The shift in geographic consumption has also been significant, with very low usage in business CBDs and higher than normal usage in residential areas.
Meanwhile, MTN has been rated the best mobile network across South Africa.
This is according to independent network performance tests conducted by a local IT publication in the second quarter of 2020.
MTN SA’s network has also emerged as the best network in the capital Tshwane, Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban.
It attained a Network Quality Score of between 9.70 and 10.00
The network score is a value which shows the relative performance of networks, with a maximum score of 10.00.
– CAJ News
