South Africa
Opensignal is the independent global standard for analyzing consumers' connectivity experiences. Our industry reports are the definitive guide to understanding what happens when people use their mobile and broadband connections in their daily life.
South Africa
Opensignal is the independent global standard for analyzing consumers' connectivity experiences. Our industry reports are the definitive guide to understanding what happens when people use their mobile and broadband connections in their daily life.
Key Findings
MTN dominates the leaderboard, winning 11 out of 15 possible awards
MTN wins 11 awards in this report, seven outright and four jointly. MTN also wins all four of the Overall Experience awards and four of the five 5G Experience awards.
Telkom has the highest signal availability in South Africa
Telkom wins the Availability award with our Telkom users spending 99.1% of the time with a 3G, 4G or 5G signal. Telkom took home the same award in last year’s report.
Vodacom triumphs in both coverage awards
Vodacom scores a 2.0 on a 10 point scale to win the 5G Coverage Experience award again. This is up from 1.7 in the previous report. Vodacom also edged out the competition for the Coverage award, scoring an 8.0 on a 10 point scale.
MTN has the best 5G Availability in South Africa
MTN wins the 5G Availability award with our MTN users spending 12.4% of the time with an active 5G connection. This is up from 11.5% in our previous report and beats Vodacom (7.6%) in this report.
Vodacom dominates 5G Download Speed across South Africa
Vodacom not only wins the 5G Download Speed award for South Africa, but also has the best 5G Download Speeds across all nine of South Africa’s regions. Vodacom also has a strong lead of over 60 Mbps above MTN in nationwide 5G Download Speed.
Mobile Experience Awards
Market Overview
MTN wins 11 of 15 possible awards with seven of its wins coming outright. MTN’s wins include all five of the Overall Experience awards and four out of five 5G Experience awards. MTN also wins the 5G Availability award and jointly wins the Reliability Experience Award. Vodacom takes home five awards including the 5G Download Speed Experience award and both Coverage awards won outright. Telkom shared the Video Experience award with Cell C and MTN while winning the Availability award outright.
South Africa has one of the highest mobile penetration rates in Africa, with mobile subscriptions continuing to grow, according to GSMA Intelligence. However, despite being one of the most advanced markets on the continent, many challenges persist. This includes infrastructure theft and vandalism, which raise operational costs and, in turn, affect consumer pricing. The pervasive issue of load shedding further complicates network reliability, forcing operators to invest heavily in backup power and resilience measures. Despite these hurdles, demand for mobile broadband continues to rise as users shift more of their daily activities online. Telkom’s mobile broadband data highlights this growing reliance on mobile connectivity, underscoring the sector’s critical role in South Africa’s digital economy.
Mobile internet is the predominant mode of connectivity for the majority of South African, leading to a substantial growth in data traffic. MTN, for instance, reported a23% surge in mobile data traffic from the first half of 2024 to the first half of 2025. Similarly, Vodacom experienced a 36.4% increase in data traffic for its 2025 financial year, while Telkom’s mobile broadband data usage grew by 24.1% in the same period. This leads operators to invest in upgrading their 4G, 5G, but also backhaul infrastructure to support this escalating demand, even as widespread 5G adoption among the general user base remains in its nascent stages.
5G in South Africa is mainly concentrated in major cities and economic hubs. Vodacom and MTN launched in 2020, with MTN now running 4,000+ sites covering 44% of the population, targeting 60% by end-2025, while Vodacom operates more than 3,000 sites. Adoption lags behind infrastructure: only 6% of MTN’s users and 14% of Telkom’s devices are 5G-enabled. Mobile users are expected to reach 50M by 2029, and 2G/3G networks will sunset by 2027; Cell C customers access 5G through Vodacom’s roaming deal.
In this report we examine the mobile network experience of the five main mobile network operators in South Africa — Cell C, MTN, Rain, Telkom and Vodacom — over a period of 90 days starting on May 1, 2025, and ending on July 29, 2025, to see how they fared. We have also included 5G results for MTN and Vodacom — while other South African operators have launched 5G commercially in the market, their reach is very limited at the moment.
Overall Experience
National Analysis
Telkom, Cell C and MTN win the Video Experience award jointly with statistically tied scores of 63.3-65.6 points on a 100-point scale and a lead of around three points over fourth-placed Rain's and Vodacom's statistically tied scores of 59.6-61.8 points. Cell C had previously won the award.
Telkom's score has increased by 10 points while Vodacom's score has increased by six points. MTN's score has increased by four points.
All operators place in the Good (58-68) category.
A Good (58-68) rating means that our users are, on average, able to stream video at 720p or better with satisfactory loading times and little stalling.
Video Experience scores account for adaptive bitrate streaming (ABR), a technology that allows Opensignal to accurately represent users' real video experience including video streams up to 4K quality.
Definitions
Opensignal’s Video Experience quantifies the quality of video streamed to mobile devices by measuring real-world video streams over an operator's networks. The metric is based on an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach, built upon detailed studies which have derived a relationship between technical parameters, including picture quality, video loading time and stall rate, with the perceived video experience as reported by real people. To calculate video experience, we are directly measuring video streams from end-user devices and using this ITU approach to quantify the overall video experience for each operator on a scale from 0 to 100. The videos tested include a mixture of resolutions — including Full HD (FHD) and 4K / Ultra HD (UHD) — and are streamed directly from the world’s largest video content providers.
In addition to Video Experience, we report on the following metrics related to video experience:
- 5G Video Experience: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users when they were connected to an operator’s 5G network.
- Video Experience – 5G Users: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator's networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G video experience along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Video Experience: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 4G network.
- 3G Video Experience: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users on an operator’s 3G network.
National Analysis
In the previous report, the award was won by Telkom, Cell C and MTN jointly. MTN now wins the Games Experience award outright with a score of 37.5 points on a 100-point scale and a lead of around one point over second-placed Telkom's, Cell C's and Rain's statistically tied scores. Vodacom comes fourth with a score of 36.7 points.
MTN, Telkom, Vodacom and Cell C each improved by one point.
Definitions
Opensignal’s Games Experience measures how mobile users experience real-time multiplayer mobile gaming on an operator’s network. Measured on a scale of 0-100, it analyzes how our users’ multiplayer mobile gaming experience is affected by mobile network conditions including latency, packet loss and jitter.
Games Experience quantifies the experience when playing real-time multiplayer mobile games on mobile devices connected to servers located around the world. The approach is built on several years of research quantifying the relationship between technical network parameters and the gaming experience as reported by real mobile users. These parameters include latency (round trip time), jitter (variability of latency) and packet loss (the proportion of data packets that never reach their destination). Additionally, it considers multiple genres of multiplayer mobile games to measure the average sensitivity to network conditions. The games tested include some of the most popular real-time multiplayer mobile games (such as Fortnite, Pro Evolution Soccer and Arena of Valor) played around the world.
Calculating Games Experience starts with measuring the end-to-end experience from users’ devices to internet end-points that host real games. The score is then measured on a scale from 0 to 100.
In addition to Games Experience, we report on the following metrics related to games experience:
- 5G Games Experience: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users when they were connected to an operator’s 5G network.
- Games Experience – 5G Users: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator's networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G games experience along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Games Experience: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 4G network.
- 3G Games Experience: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO) network.
National Analysis
Cell C, MTN, Rain and Telkom jointly win the Voice Experience award with statistically tied scores of 72.2-72.7 points on a 100-point scale.
Definitions
Opensignal's Voice App Experience measures the quality of experience for over-the-top (OTT) voice services — mobile voice apps such as WhatsApp, Skype and Facebook Messenger — using a model derived from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach for quantifying overall voice call quality and a series of calibrated technical parameters. This model characterizes the exact relationship between the technical measurements and perceived call quality. Voice App Experience for each operator is calculated on a scale from 0 to 100.
In addition to Voice App Experience, we report on the following metrics related to voice app experience:
- 5G Voice App Experience: The average Voice App Experience of Opensignal users when they were connected to an operator’s 5G network.
- Voice App Experience – 5G Users: The average Voice App Experience of Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator's networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G voice app experience along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Voice App Experience: The average Voice App Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 4G network.
- 3G Voice App Experience: The average Voice App Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO) network.
National Analysis
MTN again wins the Download Speed Experience award outright, this time with a score of 60.1Mbps and a lead of 18Mbps over second-placed Vodacom's 42Mbps. Cell C comes third while Telkom and Rain share fourth place.
MTN's score increased by 11Mbps, Vodacom's score increased by 9Mbps, Cell C's score increased by 5Mbps and Telkom's score increased by 4Mbps.
Definitions
Measured in Mbps, Download Speed Experience represents the typical everyday speeds a user experiences across an operator’s mobile data networks.
In addition to Download Speed Experience, we report on the following metrics related to download speeds:
- 5G Download Speed: The average download speed observed by Opensignal users with active 5G connections.
- Download Speed Experience – 5G Users: The average download speeds experienced by Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator’s networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G download speeds along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Download Speed: The average downlink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 4G.
- 3G Download Speed: The average downlink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO).
National Analysis
In the previous report, the award was won by Cell C and MTN jointly. MTN now wins the Upload Speed Experience award outright with a score of 10.1Mbps and a lead of 1Mbps over second-placed Cell C's 9.4Mbps. Vodacom finishes third, Rain finishes fourth and Telkom finishes fifth.
MTN, Vodacom and Cell C all increased their scores by 2Mbps since the last report.
Definitions
Upload Speed Experience measures the average upload speeds for each operator observed by our users across their mobile data networks. Typically upload speeds are slower than download speeds, as current mobile broadband technologies focus resources on providing the best possible download speed for users consuming content on their devices. As mobile internet trends move away from downloading content to creating content and supporting real-time communications services, upload speeds are becoming more vital and new technologies are emerging that boost upstream capacity.
In addition to Upload Speed Experience, we report on five supporting metrics related to upload speeds:
- 5G Upload Speed: The average upload speed observed by Opensignal users with active 5G connections.
- Upload Speed Experience – 5G Users: The average upload speeds experienced by Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator’s networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G upload speeds along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Upload Speed: The average uplink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 4G.
- 3G Upload Speed: The average uplink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO).
5G Experience
National Analysis
MTN wins the 5G Video Experience award outright with a score of 69.3 points on a 100-point scale and a lead of one point over second-placed Vodacom's 68.3 points.
Vodacom's score has increased by two points.
All operators place in the Very Good (68-78) category.
A Very Good (68-78) rating means that our users are, on average, able to stream video at 1080p or better with satisfactory loading times and little stalling.
5G Video Experience scores account for adaptive bitrate streaming (ABR), a technology that allows Opensignal to accurately represent users' real video experience including video streams up to 4K quality.
Definitions
5G Video Experience quantifies the quality of mobile video experienced by Opensignal users on real-world video streams when they were connected to 5G. The metric is based on an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach, built upon detailed studies which have derived a relationship between technical parameters, including picture quality, video loading time and stall rate, with the perceived video experience as reported by real people. To calculate 5G Video Experience, we are directly measuring video streams from end-user devices and using this ITU approach to quantify the video experience observed by our users on each operator’s 5G network on a scale from 0 to 100. The videos tested include a mixture of resolutions — including Full HD (FHD) and 4K / Ultra HD (UHD) — and are streamed directly from the world’s largest video content providers.
National Analysis
MTN wins the 5G Games Experience award outright with a score of 42.3 points on a 100-point scale and a lead of two points over second-placed Vodacom's 40.8 points.
MTN and Vodacom raised their scores by two points each.
Definitions
5G Games Experience measures how mobile users experience real-time multiplayer mobile gaming on an operator's 5G network. It analyzes how our users’ multiplayer mobile gaming experience was affected by mobile network conditions including latency, packet loss and jitter. 5G Games Experience for each operator is calculated on a scale from 0 to 100.
5G Games Experience quantifies the experience when playing real-time multiplayer mobile games on mobile devices connected to servers located around the world. The approach is built on several years of research quantifying the relationship between technical network parameters and the gaming experience as reported by real mobile users. These parameters include latency (round trip time), jitter (variability of latency) and packet loss (the proportion of data packets that never reach their destination). Additionally, it considers multiple genres of multiplayer mobile games to measure the average sensitivity to network conditions. The games tested include some of the most popular real-time multiplayer mobile games (such as Fortnite, Pro Evolution Soccer and Arena of Valor) played around the world. Calculating 5G Games Experience starts with measuring the end-to-end experience from users’ devices to internet end-points that host real games.
National Analysis
MTN and Vodacom jointly win the 5G Voice App Experience award with identical scores of 76.7 points on a 100-point scale. Both operators place in the Acceptable (74–80 points) category.
Definitions
5G Voice App Experience quantifies the experience of Opensignal users when using over-the-top voice apps — such as WhatsApp, Skype and Facebook Messenger — on an operator’s 5G network. It uses a model derived from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach for quantifying overall voice call quality and a series of calibrated technical parameters. This model characterizes the exact relationship between the technical measurements and perceived call quality. 5G Voice App Experience for each operator is calculated on a scale from 0 to 100.
National Analysis
Vodacom again wins the 5G Download Speed award outright with a score of 220Mbps and a lead of 61Mbps over second-placed MTN's 159.3Mbps.
MTN's score has increased by 13Mbps.
Definitions
5G Download Speed shows the average download speed experienced by Opensignal users across an operator’s 5G network. 5G Download Speed for each operator is calculated in Mbps (Megabits per second).
National Analysis
MTN wins the 5G Upload Speed award outright with a score of 21.5Mbps and a lead of 1Mbps over second-placed Vodacom's 20.9Mbps. Previously, the award had been won by Vodacom and MTN jointly.
MTN's score has increased by 2Mbps while Vodacom's score has only increased by 1Mbps.
Definitions
5G Upload Speed measures the average upload speeds experienced by Opensignal users across an operator’s 5G network. 5G Upload Speed for each operator is calculated in Mbps (Megabits per second).
Coverage
National Analysis
Vodacom again wins the Coverage Experience award outright with a score of eight points on a 10-point scale and a lead of nearly one point over second-placed MTN's 7.4 points. Telkom finishes third with a score of 5.4 points, Cell C places fourth with a score of 5.2 points and Rain takes fifth with a score of 1.3 points.
Definitions
The Opensignal Coverage Experience metric measures the extent of mobile networks in the places people live, work and travel. The metric represents the experience users receive as they travel around areas where they would reasonably expect to find coverage.
Traditional coverage metrics typically estimate either a percentage of land area covered, or a percentage of population covered; often neither will be an accurate measurement of the true user expectation and experience. In many markets there are areas where neither population density nor geographic area reflect the importance of coverage to users. For example, in a large mountain range most users will not expect coverage in the wilderness, but poor coverage in the relatively small area of a ski resort is critical for the enjoyment of a holiday. Estimates based purely on population give undue significance to coverage in the most densely populated areas.
Coverage Experience measures geographic coverage of populated areas and therefore more accurately reflects the coverage expectations and experience of typical users. It can give a result that is somewhat different to traditional estimates based on either geographic or population measures. The metric uses a scale from 0 to 10.
National Analysis
Vodacom again wins the 5G Coverage Experience award outright with a score of two points on a 10-point scale and a slim lead over second-placed MTN's 1.8 points.
Definitions
The Opensignal Coverage Experience metric measures the extent of mobile networks in the places people live, work and travel. The metric represents the experience users receive as they travel around areas where they would reasonably expect to find coverage.
Traditional coverage metrics typically estimate either a percentage of land area covered, or a percentage of population covered; often neither will be an accurate measurement of the true user expectation and experience. In many markets there are areas where neither population density nor geographic area reflect the importance of coverage to users. For example, in a large mountain range most users will not expect coverage in the wilderness, but poor coverage in the relatively small area of a ski resort is critical for the enjoyment of a holiday. Estimates based purely on population give undue significance to coverage in the most densely populated areas.
Coverage Experience measures geographic coverage of populated areas and therefore more accurately reflects the coverage expectations and experience of typical users. It can give a result that is somewhat different to traditional estimates based on either geographic or population measures. The metric uses a scale from 0 to 10.
5G Coverage Experience shows the proportion of places Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription had an active 5G connection.
National Analysis
Telkom again wins the Availability award outright with a score of 99.1% and a lead of around less than one percentage point over second-placed Cell C's, MTN's and Rain's statistically tied scores. Vodacom comes fifth with a score of 98.4%.
Definitions
Our availability metrics are not a measure of a network’s geographical extent. They won’t tell you whether you are likely to get a signal if you plan to visit a remote rural or nearly uninhabited region. Instead, they measure what proportion of time people have a network connection, in the places they most commonly frequent — something often missed by traditional coverage metrics. Looking at when users have a connection rather than where, provides us with a more precise reflection of the true user experience.
We also keep track of the instances that leave mobile users most frustrated: when there is no signal to connect to at all. The most common dead zones users struggle with occur indoors. As most of our availability data is collected indoors (as that’s where users spend most of their time), we’re particularly astute at detecting areas of zero signal.
Our availability metrics take a user-centric, time-based approach that complements the user-centric and geographical-based methodology used by our reach metrics.
Availability shows the proportion of time all Opensignal users on an operator’s network had either a 3G, 4G or 5G connection.
National Analysis
MTN again wins the 5G Availability award outright with a score of 12.4% and a lead of almost five percentage points over second-placed Vodacom's 7.6%.
Definitions
Our availability metrics are not a measure of a network’s geographical extent. They won’t tell you whether you are likely to get a signal if you plan to visit a remote rural or nearly uninhabited region. Instead, they measure what proportion of time people have a network connection, in the places they most commonly frequent — something often missed by traditional coverage metrics. Looking at when users have a connection rather than where, provides us with a more precise reflection of the true user experience.
We also keep track of the instances that leave mobile users most frustrated: when there is no signal to connect to at all. The most common dead zones users struggle with occur indoors. As most of our availability data is collected indoors (as that’s where users spend most of their time), we’re particularly astute at detecting areas of zero signal.
Our availability metrics take a user-centric, time-based approach that complements the user-centric and geographical-based methodology used by our reach metrics.
5G Availability shows the proportion of time Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription had an active 5G connection.
Consistency
National Analysis
Cell C, MTN and Vodacom win the Reliability Experience award jointly with statistically tied scores of 876-880 points on a 100-1000 point scale and a lead of around 49 points over fourth-placed Telkom's and Rain's statistically tied scores of 825-831 points.
Opensignal’s Reliability Experience measures the ability of our users to connect to and successfully complete (basic) tasks on operators’ networks. It consists of the following components:
% time connected — The proportion of time Opensignal users can successfully connect to a mobile network
Data Connectivity — the proportion of time when the network is available and the device can connect to the internet
Task completion — whether tasks initiated by the user’s device are completed
Sufficiency — The probability that (basic) tasks will be executed sufficiently well for the user
Definitions
Opensignal’s Reliability Experience measures the ability of Opensignal users to connect to and successfully complete (basic) tasks on communication service providers’ (CSP) networks. It analyzes how much Opensignal users’ experience is affected by the radio access and core network, along with issues that prevent them from connecting to the internet even if they have a connection to their CSP’s network. It also factors in users’ ability to successfully use lower performance applications including SD video, over-the-top voice calls and web browsing.
Related Analysis
Our Methodology
Collecting billions of individual measurements daily from over 100 million devices globally, Opensignal independently analyzes mobile and broadband user experience on every major network operator around the globe.
About Opensignal
Opensignal is the leading global provider of independent insights into consumers' connectivity experiences and choice of carrier. Our proprietary insights into mobile and broadband networks give operators the solutions they need to profitably compete and win, from executive level scorecards and public validation to pin-point level engineering analytics and consumer decision dynamics.
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Confidence Intervals
For every metric we calculate statistical confidence intervals indicated on our graphs. When confidence intervals overlap, our measured results are too close to declare a winner. In those cases, we show a statistical draw. For this reason, some metrics have multiple operator winners.
In our bar graphs we represent confidence intervals as boundaries on either sides of graph bars.
In our supporting-metric charts we show confidence intervals as +/- numerical values.
Why confidence intervals are vital in analyzing mobile network experience