Which Mobile Network Leads South Africa in 2025?
Unveiling South Africa’s Top Mobile Network Providers in 2025
Learn the main mobile network providers in South Africa as of January 2025, based on coverage, speed, and user satisfaction.
Hey there! Ever wondered which mobile network is dominating the rankings in South Africa as of January 2025? Let’s dive into the newest updates and discover who’s leading the pack.
MTN: Expanding Horizons
MTN has been making tremendous progress in the South African telecom environment. By the end of 2024, they expanded their 5G coverage to reach 44% of the population, up from 35% earlier in the year.
This means better internet speeds and more reliable connections for a broader percentage of the country. Plus, MTN unveiled the inexpensive MTN Icon 5G smartphone, priced at 2,499 rand, hoping to make 5G accessible to more South Africans.
Vodacom: Keeping Pace
Not to be outdone, Vodacom has also been pushing up its services. By the end of 2024, their 5G network reached over 50% of the South African population, a huge jump from 30% the previous year.
This expansion ensures that more consumers may experience high-speed internet across the country.
Telkom: Steady Growth
Telkom, South Africa’s third-largest telecom firm, reported a 1.8% fall in interim earnings for the half-year ending September 30, 2024. Despite this, they reported a 10% gain in mobile service revenue due to robust demand for data.
Their effort on transferring consumers to faster fibre and LTE technology is paying dividends, with a 15.5% growth in fibre data service revenue.
Cell C and Rain: On the Move
Cell C has been making progress by conducting 5G connectivity tests in conjunction with Vodacom and MTN. They’re preparing up for 5G readiness and have started updating their core network to facilitate 5G deployment.
Rain, on the other hand, has been growing its fixed-5G coverage, reaching 8 million homes in 2024. They’ve also updated their network to 5.5G to unleash better capacity and coverage benefits.
Network Performance: Who’s Leading?
According to MyBroadband Insights’ Q3 2024 Mobile Network Quality Report, MTN had the greatest average download speed at 106.22 Mbps, followed by Vodacom at 94.07 Mbps, Cell C at 68.12 Mbps, Telkom at 39.72 Mbps, and Rain at 23.14 Mbps.
Here’s a quick comparison:
| Network Operator | Download Speed (Mbps) | Upload Speed (Mbps) | Latency (ms) | Network Quality Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MTN | 106.22 | 32.54 | 27 | 10.00 |
| Vodacom | 94.07 | 17.07 | 29 | 8.24 |
| Cell C | 68.12 | 27.84 | 37 | 7.03 |
| Telkom | 39.72 | 12.04 | 36 | 4.51 |
| Rain | 23.14 | 11.40 | 27 | 4.01 |
So, Who’s the Best?
MTN is followed with download speeds and network quality, although Vodacom is not extremely distant from this mark, especially given the bigger 5G coverage it has. Telkom, Cell C are improving whereas Rain is increasing its services.
But hey, these are just numbers and sometimes, that does the trick. How have you fared with your current mobile network operator? In your opinion, how accurate do you find these stats to be? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below so the ball gets rolling!
