Information reaching this publication indicates that there has been an issue with MTN network quality of service caused by the latest models of the iPhone starting with the iPhone XR, iPhone X, iPhone X Pro, iphone 11, iphone 11 pro and the iphone 11 pro Max. All these phones are designed to run VoLTE which standards for Voice over 4G -LTE network similar to you making a WhatsApp or a Skype call. This service wasn’t available on the market so what mobile network operators did, was to push all calls to the aging and congested 2G or 3G networks and this in most cases caused call drops. But, it seems the latest iPhone models have been causing an issue with the MTN network.
VoLTE its self has had its challenges in Uganda, as Smile Telecom tried to roll it out in 2016, but as a product it has not improve their financial situation and its value proposition is not easy to justify. You see– during 4G roll-out, existing mobile networks had to make a tough choice on whether to make a huge investment in upgrading their network with a Core Network Subsystem called the IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) architecture that would support services like native Voice over 4G. Most telecos chose the affordable option of buying licences from their respective vendors that would allow them to revert voice calls back to 2G or 3G (known as Circuit Switched Fallback) and leaving 4G as a data only service. This means the Voice over 4G service wasn’t available on the market, as calls are handed-over back to drawn to 2G on the MTN Network and there call drops happened. The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) had plans to phase out 2G at some point, so this might push carriers to invest in an IMS.
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MTN network Vs iOS 13
Apple in a bid to resolve the issue with iOS 13, brought about a feature for ability for VoLTE to be OFF for those telecom firms that aren’t certified to providing VoLTE. Still, this wasn’t sufficient for iPhone users on the MTN Network. MTN has been working with Apple to finding a lasting solution, and with this confirmation from the ED, let the users here test and give feedback.
This has reportedly been an issue since 2018 and MTN together with Apple have been working on when the iPhones Xr, Xs and Xs Max were released.
According to some iPhone users on the MTN network we spoke to who wanted anonymity said;
I have been irritated with his iPhone. Elite computers told me that several MTN customers with latest iPhones had reported same challenges. But I understand MTN’s refusal to own it up publicly because it has a business implication.
The UCC ED has come out to assure the public that the issue on the MTN Network has been resolved, but sources say that this was about older models. The problem the ED is talking about is affecting iPhone X and advanced models. Calls dropping has been the most embarrassing problem on these expensive phones. Ideally, dropping calls would not affect a single phone model, unless she’s been misquoted, her clarification doesn’t say iPhoneX (and advanced models)! This is what she said in her tweet;
But since MTN takes time to act and latest model iPhone users are still facing the same issues, then its safe to say that they are still somewhere resolving issues for iPhone X and other models. For the problem to be isolated to iPhones, could also have something to do with the phones antenna sensitivity. For now, its all just a wild goose chase. Similar issues have also been confirmed by iPhone users in Ghana on the MTN network.
On January 28th 2018, the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) released a network performance report that it conducted the period between September to November 2019. The report indicated that Airtel Uganda had the fastest mobile data services while Africell lacked when it came to drop call rate. However, the UCC report said that MTN network and UTL came out on top with the least towns registering high drop call rate. Given that a handful of MTN subscribers using the latest iPhone, this didn’t affect the over call results. However the UCC report left the telecom giant in the middle with no direct recognition.
A few weeks later, MTN Uganda was bestowed upon with the title of the telecom company in Uganda with the “Highest Network Performance Score” for its data and voice services. The tests were conducted by Rohdes & Schwarz, using the ITU/ETSI standards and methodology.
