Telecommunications

This is the best mobile network in South Africa

Luke Fraser

 ·16 Jul 2026

MTN has the best mobile network in South Africa, according to MyBroadband Insights’ Q2 2026 Mobile Network Quality Report.

The findings are based on over 360,000 speed tests conducted by mobile phone users across South Africa during Q2 2026.

The testing included a combination of crowdsourced data and dedicated drive tests, with MyBroadband Insights travelling 20,000km and testing networks in major cities, towns and roads.

Testing was done on high-end smartphones that use the latest technologies, as well as on mid-range devices that reflect the experience of average South African users.

MTN was the top performer in terms of overall network performance and consistently outperformed its competitors across key metrics.

MTN recorded the highest average download speed at 91.11 Mbps, followed by Vodacom at 71.13 Mbps, Cell C at 65.76 Mbps, Telkom at 52.56 Mbps, and Rain at 22.27 Mbps.

MTN was also the best-performing network in major metros, including Tshwane, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, eThekwini, Nelson Mandela Bay, and Mangaung.

MyBroadband Insights said that MTN’s strong performance is attributed to continued investment in LTE and 5G infrastructure. Cell C took second place, with its 4G performance close to MTN’s.

Vodacom fell from second to third place, with its strong 5G performance offsetting its poor 4G performance.

To determine which mobile network is best in South Africa, each network was assigned a “Network Quality Score” out of 10 based on download, upload, and latency speeds.

MTN reigned supreme with a Network Quality Score of 9.96, followed by Cell C at 7.70, Vodacom at 7.55, Telkom at 6.05, and Rain at 4.16.