rain rolls out the first 5G network in South Africa

As Toto said back in 1982: “I bless the rain down in Africa”. The rain has indeed been blessed, with the South African rain network completing the first 5G network rollout in Africa. 

Today, rain announced that it has implemented 5G in certain parts of Johannesburg and Tswane. This makes it one of the first ten networks to officially roll out a 5G network in the world. Earlier this year, rain said it had partnered with Huawei to streamline the adoption of 5G in SA. Since then we haven’t received any updates, but rain was sneaky. It had to surprise us. 

Bless the rain

“Selected customers in rain’s 5G coverage area have been invited to be the first to purchase ultra-fast 5G, unlimited internet for only R1,000 per month. Rain will deliver a state-of-the-art 5G router to a customer’s home. No installation is required, the router is simply plug-and-play and you will be connected immediately. The speed and capacity of the 5G network, together with the latest WiFi 6 technology in the router, will enable rain users to stream high-definition video to multiple devices simultaneously,” says Khaya Dlanga, rain’s CMO.

The new 5G network is designed for home and business at the moment as an alternative to ADSL, fibre and fixed-LTE. The offer will expand to more customers over the coming weeks to people in the coverage area of Johannesburg and Tswane. 

Rain plans to extend 5G coverage to more South African metros over the course of 2020. By leveraging its existing 4G infrastructure, it has built the 5G network to be more affordable for South Africans. If you’re interested in 5G, head here to sign up and rain will let you know when 5G is available in your area. Welcome to the future.