Shameel Joosub is the CEO of Vodacom and one of South Africa’s most respected telecoms leaders. He joined Vodacom in 1994, where he served as the MD until 2010. He was then appointed as CEO of Vodacom Spain before becoming the Vodacom Group CEO in 2012. Joosub has played a vital role in developing Vodacom into one of the top telecommunications companies in South Africa and has seen the company bring the first commercial LTE and 5G mobile networks to the country.

In this What’s Next interview, Aki Anastasiou meets with Joosub to discuss Vodacom’s 5G rollout and the future of the cellular industry in South Africa. Joosub discusses Vodacom’s substantial infrastructure investments over the past year, including spending R1 billion in the Western Cape and R450 million in Mpumalanga. He talks about the focus points of Vodacom’s 5G rollout and network expansion and highlights several of the biggest obstacles the company has faced. Joosub also discusses Vodacom’s plan of action after the conclusion of the spectrum auction. Finally, Joosub talks about Vodacom’s plans for the rest of 2022 and discusses his outlook for the cellular industry over the next few years.