For the launch, Rain has partnered with Chinese telecoms gear maker Huawei.

Notably, the launch of Rain’s 5G network is also the first commercial 5G SA network in Africa.

Rain Chief Marketing Officer Khaya Dlanga told the media, “Standalone 5G will further improve 5G network performance with increased uplink rate, lower latency, and improved reliability, ushering in high-end cloud VR and cloud gaming services, more diversified enterprise and home broadband services.”

“Standalone 5G will demonstrate how 5G is powerful in realising South Africa’s 4IR future. Powered by Huawei’s global leading 5G solutions, our Standalone 5G will enable the industry’s digital transformation in the future, such as smart healthcare, smart ports, smart mining and smart manufacturing in South Africa.”

“We will work with the trustworthy strategic partner to further expand our 5G networks and bring the best service and experience to our customers,” Dlanga added.

According to some analysts, Rain’s competitive pricing on 5G will pose a challenge for bigger telco’s operating in South Africa such as MTN and Vodacom.

Rain activated Africa’s first commercial 5G network in Johannesburg and Pretoria last year. Earlier this year, Vodacom launched its 5G mobile network in Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Cape Town.

Last month, MTN too launched its 5G network in Johannesburg and Cape Town, as well as Bloemfontein and Port Elizabeth.

MTN deployed 5G in 2.1GHz using Dynamic Spectrum Sharing, 3.5GHz, and 28GHz bands.

MTN has also partnered with Huawei for the launch of its 5G network.

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The offering of mobile financial services is considered to be a major factor that prompted the bank to enter into mobile space.

Standard Bank Mobile is offering a range of smartphones which include iPhone, Samsung and Huawei. The bank is also providing enough funds to its customers for buying the phones.

Through the new scheme, the customers can buy smartphones through an extended payment facility. The facility is provided for Standard Bank credit card account holders. The payment for the phone can be done in a twenty four month period at an interest rate of 11 percent per year.

Standard Bank Mobile is also planning on introducing more flexible time periods for payments such as twelve months or thirty six months.

According to a statement given by the bank, “Standard Bank believes that the only way to enter a crowded telecommunications market is by offering additional value to consumers.”

There are around 91.7 million mobile subscriptions in South Africa. The two biggest telecom operators MTN and Vodafone claim two third of the market while Cell C and Telekom Mobile account for 2 percent of the subscription base. Standard Bank Mobile is using both MTN and Cell C’s network for the project.

Standard Bank’s MVNO venture made it the first financial institution in South Africa to explore that field.

Stephen Bailey, CEO of Standard Bank Mobile said that the integration of mobile and financial services to suit everyday requirements of the customers has always been the primary objective of the firm.

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Last year, the group had said that it would apply for a mobile banking licence in Nigeria in a hope to launch the service in 2019. Being South Africa’s largest telecom company, it has faced significant challenges in Nigeria. The company was involved in a dispute after the central bank said that it illegally transferred $8.1 billion overseas, media reports said. 

Toward the end of last year, Nigeria had announced that it would allow telecom companies to provide mobile banking services. The decision stemmed from the country’s efforts to offer citizens access to mobile money services without the need for bank accounts. 

Mobile money services have been quite successful in east Africa. MTN Nigeria’s CEO Ferdi Moolman, said, “Through the network established by YDFS, MTN is in a position to broaden the availability of financial services for the under-served across the country. This marks a very important first step in leveraging our infrastructure to scale our fintech initiatives.”

Moolman added that MTN Nigeria has also applied for a Payment Service Bank Licence. The licence over a period of time will allow the company to offer a broad range of financial services to communities. The company hopes to receive the licence shortly. 

Last year, the World Bank said that if MTN Nigeria is granted licence, its mobile banking services will cater to 60 percent of the Nigerian population who do not have access to a bank account. 

Byron Lotter, fund manager at Vestact, said, “It’s a huge opportunity for MTN.” Vestact owns shares in MTN. In the six months to June, the company has added 3.3 million customers to its network. Moolman said that strong data and voice revenue has reinforced the company’s performance during that period. 

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The company’s South Africa service revenue declined 1.2 percent year-on-year, however. Its international operations’ robust performance has offset South Africa’s revenue decline.

Vodacom added 560, 000 customers outside South Africa, representing 5.3 percent growth. The company’s growth from its international service revenue was strongly bolstered by M-pesa and data demand. 

Vodacom Group CEO Shameel Joosub in a statement to shareholders, said, “Growth from our international portfolio offset the anticipated slower performance in South Africa, which was impacted by new data usage regulations, significant data price cuts and a subdued economy weighing on consumer spend.” 

Factors including reduction in out-of-bundle data rates and regulations on data usage and the shift between roaming partners from Cell C to Telkom are the reasons for the company’s drop in revenue, it said. 

In March, Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) enforced new regulations for all South African cellular network providers. 

According to the new regulations, a cell phone provider cannot automatically switch users to out-of-bundle use without seeking user permission. The providers will have to allow users to roll out unused data before the date of expiry and transfer the data to other users of the same providers. 

South Africa has one of the most expensive data prices compared to the rest of the continent. 

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