Outdoor 5G routers are disappearing in South Africa

Mobile network operators in South Africa have transitioned away from outdoor routers for their fixed 5G products as network performance improvements have made it easier to ensure reliable connectivity with indoor units.

In the early days of the technology, outdoor routers were commonly offered with fixed-5G packages to ensure customers could get the best possible reception.

With very limited towers supporting 5G initially, many customers’ homes were too far away to get a consistent, high-speed connection using an indoor router.

The first mobile network to launch a consumer 5G service was Rain, which rolled out its R999 Premium service in November 2019.

The original router it provided with that package was the Huawei All-Scenario N5368X CPE supporting both indoor and outdoor use.

Out of the box, the weatherproof router had a metal bracket at the back for connecting to a second bracket that customers could attach to a wall or pole outside their house.

Rain also included a long, flat Ethernet cable to ensure customers could connect an indoor Wi-Fi router or other device directly to the outdoor CPE.

Setting up the router required following a tutorial and using signal-finding software that helped customers position the CPE to face the nearest tower with the lowest level of obstructions.

While these tools helped with improving network speeds and latency, their necessity made it significantly more cumbersome for Rain customers to get connected.

It also made it more expensive for Rain, as the company sent out technicians at no charge to help customers get a reliable signal.

MyBroadband’s forums were often filled with Rain users providing advice and configurations for optimal configurations of their outdoor routers.

What was supposed to be a fuss-free plug-and-play broadband solution quickly became a crash course in information technology and networking.

Although Rain introduced a smaller indoor-only router over the next few months, it continued to offer outdoor routers for customers further away from its base stations for several years.

Fast-forward to December 2024, and Rain’s outdoor routers are no longer available to new customers — either for home or business use.

According to Rain, it no longer needs to provide outdoor routers due to the improved performance of its network and its advanced routers.

“We’re able to provide customers with a simple plug-and-play experience,” the company said.

As part of its response to the US trade ban on Huawei, Rain has developed and launched its own range of 5G routers, which it has branded “The101” range.

“The101 5G smart range is specifically designed to improve both 5G signal reception and the indoor Wi-Fi experience,” Rain told MyBroadband.

“This eliminates the need for external antennas or routers, which are complicated for customers to install and manage.”

“With the addition of The101 Pro and The101 Xtender, we have further reduced the need for outdoor routers.”

Other 5G operators also indoor-only

It would also appear that none of the other mobile networks that launched fixed-5G services after Rain offer outdoor routers in December 2024.

MTN was the second mobile network to launch fixed-5G in 2020 — with the indoor-only Huawei CPE Pro 2, Huawei 6878, and ZTE MC801A being its initial routers.

The latest model for its MyMTN Home Wi-Fi packages is the ZTE MC888D indoor router.

When Telkom launched its own fixed-5G services in October 2022, it offered packages with indoor or outdoor installations.

The outdoor option came with a professional installation and Wi-Fi mesh kit, making it about R200 more expensive per month than the equivalent indoor package.

However, Telkom revamped its 5G Internet offering in 2024 and no longer advertises the outdoor option on its website.

The indoor-only packages are also substantially cheaper than they previously were, making Telkom much more competitive with Rain in fixed-5G services.

Vodacom only offers an outdoor unit on its capped fixed-5G packages for business customers.

However, like MTN, it also sells uncapped fixed-5G plans through third-party ISPs, which offer TP-Link and ZTE indoor routers.

MyBroadband could also not find any listings for new or used outdoor 5G routers from reputable online stores or marketplaces at the time of publication.