MTN aims to spend R10bn in 2023 and the early months of 2024, with the telecommunications company sacrificing higher profits to make its network reliable during Eskom blackouts. Its competitor, Vodacom, is spending R12bn on backup power measures.

MTN has spent R6.6-billion in recent months to improve its telecommunications network in South Africa and make it more resilient in the face of Eskom blackouts that have intensified to unprecedented levels in 2023.

MTN, South Africa's second-largest telecommunications operator after Vodacom, had spent billions of rands in the first nine months of the year (ending 30 September 2023) and plans to spend an additional R2.5-billion over the next few months.

The company aims to spend R10-billion in 2023 and the early months of 2024 to make its network more efficient and resilient in the face of Eskom rolling blackouts.

MTN and other telecommunications operators have been forced to spend billions of rands on solar power, generators and lithium batteries to keep their cellphone towers running during Eskom blackouts.

The cellphone towers, which are critical for mobile and internet connectivity, depend on a stable electricity supply to function efficiently. In the 16 years that South Africa has been energy insecure, telecommunications operators have spent huge sums of money fitting cellphone towers with backup electricity measures, funds that could have been used to expand their operations and, in turn, improve earnings.

Vodacom has stated its intention to spend at least R12-billion...