GLOBAL smart-device manufacturer OPPO is partnering with South Africa 5G and data-only network operator rain to offer customers its new 5G CPE routers.
OPPO said yesterday it had expanded its product range in South Africa with the OPPO 5G CPE T1a router, as it continues to grow its Internet of Things (IOT) portfolio.
OPPO South Africa head of Operations & Go-to Markets, Liam Faurie, said that at OPPO they continued to build their IOT product range as well as their ecosystem.
“We will continue to combine cutting-edge technologies with aesthetically appealing designs – 5G is a foundational component of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and OPPO will continue to bring in 5G products to ensure smoother and faster connections,” Faurie said.
OPPO said that this would be available exclusively on the rain network at launch.
The routers are white, characterised by a minimalistic cube design with no visible antennas as they are internal. The company said that this would be an aesthetically pleasing ultra-fast 5G router that could be displayed in the living room, instead of being hidden in the background.
It has a clean yet simple interface with LED lights to indicate the status of 5G, 4G, wi-fi and power.
The router is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X55 flagship 5G chipset. With it, customers can download content 10 times faster on 5G when compared to a 4G connection, and downloading a 2GB HD movie would take a few seconds.
The router is supported the latest wi-fi 6 standard that is capable of higher stream rates and a wider range, so one could work from anywhere.
Faurie said that they were excited to be partnering with rain with its cutting-edge technology and to launch their first 5G CPE T1a product with them in South Africa.
Mergence Investment Managers head of equities Peter Takaendesa said that Chinese hardware manufacturers had performed strongly in the fixed wireless connectivity market and were likely to continue to grow, particularly in the emerging markets where affordability issues were more pressing.
“The wireless data access market will continue to grow over the next decade, especially in Africa, given relatively low wired fixed line connections. We therefore believe it is important for mobile network operators to continue to drive data access costs down as volumes grow to avoid major pressure on the consumer wallet,” Takaendesa said.
He added that geopolitical developments were also now causing supply chain issues and technology access restrictions, as witnessed with Huawei, therefore calling for network operators to diversify their equipment sources in case market conditions became much tighter in the future.
BUSINESS REPORT ONLINE