The agreement, with the Eastern Cape Provincial Police Board and the Eastern Cape Community Police Forum CPF, is designed to protect critical network infrastructure, including base stations, which have seen 71 incidents of vandalism in the last six months.
"Both the South African Police Service SAPS and the CPF in the Eastern Cape will be contributing to the initiative by deploying law enforcement personnel and community patrollers to monitor and respond to security breaches at MTN network base stations in the affected communities," MTN said in a statement on Tuesday.
"The partnership focuses on strengthening collaboration between MTN, the Eastern Cape SAPS and the CPF in high-risk areas such as Mthatha and Queenstown," it added.
A similar initiative was launched in Gauteng in 2023, which MTN said resulted in "measurable success": a 35 reduction in MTN-related crime and asset losses in the province.
"Continuing this momentum with the Eastern Cape will enhance crime-fighting efforts, particularly with the strategic support of the SAPS critical infrastructure task team," said MTN South Africa CEO Charles Molapisi.