MyBroadband Insights has published its 2020 Mobile Network Quality Report, highlighting the best and worst mobile networks in South Africa right now.<\/p>\n
The report is based on 1.2 million speed tests which were performed by 41,000 MyBroadband Speed Test App users across South Africa between 1 January and 31 December 2020.<\/p>\n
The research shows that South Africa had an average download speed of 29.33Mbps and an average upload speed of 11.24Mbps last year.<\/p>\n
MTN had the highest average download speed at 52.84Mbps, followed by Vodacom on 29.39Mbps, Telkom on 21.58Mbps, Cell C on 17.46Mbps, and Rain on 11.90Mbps.<\/p>\n
Big increase in speed<\/strong><\/p>\n MyBroadband’s data shows that the average network speed of South Africa\u2019s mobile operators increased significantly in 2020 – despite higher data usage.<\/p>\n This was made possible by temporary spectrum which was issued to Vodacom, MTN, Telkom, and Rain by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) during the lockdown.<\/p>\n The additional spectrum helped operators to increase their network capacity and improve their average network performance. Vodacom and MTN also launched 5G networks during the lockdown using the temporary spectrum.<\/p>\n There was, however, one operator which saw its download speed decline over the last year \u2013 Rain.<\/p>\n The average download speed on Rain\u2019s network declined from 15.20Mbps in the first quarter of the year to 11.41Mbps in the fourth quarter. This significant decline was a result of network congestion in areas where Rain oversubscribed its service.<\/p>\n Rain quadrupled its sign-ups after the lockdown kicked in, which means it struggled to cope with the increased demand for data.<\/p>\n The situation was exacerbated by the fact that Rain offers uncapped products and that many people stuck at home started to use streaming services like Netflix to stay entertained.<\/p>\n Best mobile network in South Africa<\/strong><\/p>\n To determine the best mobile network in South Africa, a \u201cNetwork Quality Score\u201d was calculated for each network using download speed, upload speed, and latency.<\/p>\n The Network Quality Score out of 10 then shows how the network performed in relation to other networks.<\/p>\n MTN reigned supreme in 2020 with a Network Quality Score of 9.86, followed by Vodacom on 6.17, Telkom on 4.87, Cell C on 4.35, and Rain on 4.35.<\/p>\n The table below provides an overview of the mobile network rankings in South Africa for 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n Network operator<\/th>\n Download speed (Mbps)<\/th>\n Upload speed (Mbps)<\/th>\n Network Quality Score<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n \n MTN<\/td>\n 52.84<\/td>\n 19.92<\/td>\n 9.86<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Vodacom<\/td>\n 29.39<\/td>\n 10.43<\/td>\n 6.17<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Telkom<\/td>\n 21.58<\/td>\n 5.85<\/td>\n 4.87<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Cell C<\/td>\n 17.46<\/td>\n 7.91<\/td>\n 4.35<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Rain<\/td>\n 11.90<\/td>\n 9.93<\/td>\n 4.35<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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