The report is based on 296 277 speed tests performed by 6 989 mobile data users across South Africa between July 1 and September 30 this year.The testing included data from crowd-sourced users and dedicated drive tests, ensuring a balanced and accurate representation of real-world network performance.

As part of the dedicated drive tests, MyBroadband Insights covered 13 000 km and performed testing in South Africa’s major cities.The dedicated drive tests used smartphones that support the latest technologies as well as mid-range smartphones that replicate the experience of most users.

MTN had the highest average download speed at 106,22 Mbps followed by Vodacom at 94,07 Mbps, Cell C at 68,12, Telkom at 39, Mbps and Rain at 23,14 Mbps. MTN performed best in Tshwane, Cape Town, Johannesburg and Nelson Mandela Bay. It shared the honours with Cell C in Ekurhuleni.

Vodacom reigned supreme in eThekwini and Mangaung. It is noteworthy that MTN won back the lead from Vodacom in Johannesburg and Cape Town. 

MTN’s strong network performance resulted from average annual investments of R10 billion in its network infrastructure for a decade.

Although Vodacom ranked second in overall network performance behind MTN, it achieved the highest 5G speeds. Vodacom invested billions in expanding its 5G network across South Africa and the latest results show the impact of its investment.

The biggest surprise over the last quarter was Cell C’s improvement. It increased its average download speed from 54,50 Mbps to 68,12 Mbps over the past three months. Cell C is making good progress under its new CEO, Jorge Mendes. This includes optimising its virtual network, which runs on MTN’s network infrastructure.

Best mobile network in South Africa

To determine the best mobile network in South Africa, each network was given a “network quality score” based on download speed, upload speed and latency.The network quality score out of 10 shows how a network performed in relation to other networks. MTN reigned supreme with a perfect network quality score of 10 followed by Vodacom at 8,24, Cell C at 7,03, Telkom at 4,51 and Rain at 4,01.

The table below provides an overview of the mobile network rankings in South Africa.