Built for data.
Most mobile networks were originally designed for voice services and later adapted for mobile data.
rain was built differently.
From day one, our network was built for mobile, home broadband and the connected devices of tomorrow. Today, it powers millions of mobile and home connections across South Africa.
A national mobile network.
rain is a licensed South African Mobile Network Operator (MNO), operating a national 4G & 5G mobile network together with one of South Africa’s largest 5G home networks.
Today, our network is built on thousands of sites using nationally licensed spectrum across the 700 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2600 MHz and 3600 MHz bands. This combination provides broad geographic coverage, improved indoor performance and the capacity required for high-performance mobile and home broadband services.
Investing in South Africa’s future.
In 2022, rain participated in South Africa’s high-demand spectrum auction, securing additional nationally licensed spectrum to expand our network.
The addition of 700 MHz spectrum significantly improved wide-area and indoor coverage, while additional 2600 MHz spectrum increased network capacity. Together with our existing 1800 MHz and 3600 MHz spectrum, this created a balanced spectrum portfolio designed to deliver both broad coverage and high-capacity 4G & 5G services.
Today, this spectrum forms the foundation of rain’s national mobile network and one of South Africa’s largest 5G home networks.
Built for what’s next.
Standalone 5G
rain launched Africa's first commercial Standalone 5G network. Built on a dedicated 5G core, Standalone 5G delivers lower latency, greater efficiency and provides the foundation for future network services.
Built for AI
AI demands faster response times, lower latency and greater reliability. rain's national 4G & 5G mobile network was built 5G-first to power the next generation of AI-powered experiences.
Massive MIMO
Massive MIMO uses advanced beamforming to direct capacity where it's needed most. rain operates one of the world's largest commercial low-band Massive MIMO deployments, improving both coverage and capacity.
rain continues to invest in next-generation wireless technologies, including one of the world's first commercial sub-1 GHz Massive MIMO 5G deployments and early 5.5G innovation.