Unified National Networks (UNN) begins a 30-month project to expand the mobile Radio Access Network (RAN) this month.
The RAN project includes the consolidation of the tower infrastructure previously managed by DST and Progresif and the deployment of 120 new sites to increase coverage in rural areas and capacity in densely populated areas.
It will modernise the equipment on site with modern operational practices.
Additional radio spectrum will be added (especially for 4G) to increase the capacity of the network and customer experience.
It will enable UNN to improve the coverage of the existing network base stations by adding low frequency carriers (700 and 900 MHz). This will have a positive impact on the coverage in remote locations and within buildings and will be deployed in all districts.
The project involves hardware and software changes on each base station. There will be short time windows, where the service in the base station will be off.
This applies only to a single base station in an area.
The service for most of the customers within the coverage area of that base station will be taken over by a neighbouring base station.
This applies to all mobile users in the respective location, independent of the service provider (DST, imagine and Progresif). The service intermittence or downtime per base station should be expected at a minimum of 10 minutes to a maximum of two hours.
UNN, along with DST, imagine and Progresif will work closely to inform the public on the main areas of impact during the duration of this project via verified channels including social media and the UNN website.