Rain has launched its new 5G service, offering “unlimited ultra-fast Internet” with speeds of up to 700 Mbps.
“Your state-of-the-art 5G home router will connect all your family’s devices with the latest WiFi, allowing everyone to stream as much as they like without worrying about data usage,” Rain said.
Rain Chief Marketing Officer Khaya Dlanga said Rain has seen speeds approaching 700 Mbps in ideal conditions. However, in real-world conditions, Rain 5G subscribers can expect to experience speeds of around 200Mbps.
Rain’s 5G service is currently only available in certain areas in Johannesburg and Tshwane, where it has close to 250 towers with an estimated 500,000 households in the coverage area.
During 2020, Rain hopes to expand the network to Cape Town and Durban, and in due course cover all of metropolitan South Africa with 2,000 live 5G sites.
5G network
Rain is leveraging its 4G network infrastructure to build a cost-effective 5G network with wide coverage.
Technically, this is called a non-standalone (NSA) 5G network and allows the operator to drive the costs of production down.
Rain uses its licenced spectrum in the 3,600MHz band to deploy the 5G part of its network.
This frequency band, together with the NSA architecture, allows Rain to construct only a relatively limited number of new sites, and yet still provide significant coverage.
This architecture has been adopted and implemented at scale in countries like South Korea, Japan, and China.
Rain’s 5G offering
Rain has invited a select group of existing customers to purchase its 5G home internet offering at R1,000 per month.
Clients can order a Huawei 5G router on the Rain website at a special launch discount and have it delivered to their home for free.
The 5G home router is plug-and-play and immediately connects a user to ultra-fast internet.
The router provides gigabit ethernet ports and the latest-generation Wi-Fi 6 technology to connect devices.
Rain plans to open up the 5G offering to the general public and small businesses in the coverage area in the coming weeks.
“As the ecosystem matures many more 5G devices (such as dual SIM mobile phones, MiFi’s, tablets, and 5G connected laptops) will become available at affordable cost,” Rain said.
Users interested in signing up for Rain’s 5G service can register their interest on the company’s website, and Rain will contact them when 5G becomes available in their area.