5G18.05.2023

Uncapped fixed-5G price showdown

South Africans can get uncapped fixed-5G packages for as little as R449 a month, with some providers offering speeds up to 500Mbps.

However, it should be noted that while these plans are uncapped, some are subject to fair usage policies (FUPs).

A MyBroadband analysis found that Axxess’ Standard 5G package is the cheapest on the market at R449 for a month-to-month service.

It offers best-effort speeds until a threshold of 300GB is reached, after which speeds are throttled to 2Mbps. The service provider says its uncapped packages can reach 500Mbps.

MTB’s MyMTN Home Premium plan is the next cheapest. It offers speeds up to 35Mbps and throttles the connection to 10Mbps after 500GB of usage.

The MyMTN Home Pro plan costs R499 on a month-to-month basis.

Rain recently revamped its product offerings, replacing its fixed-5G packages with Rain One (stylized rainOne).

The plan combines mobile and fixed-wireless connectivity, offering uncapped data, free monthly calls and data for two phones, and a fixed-5G connection for R559 monthly.

The R559 per month price applies to its base Rain One package, which offers speeds up to 30Mbps.

Customers can upgrade their speed to 60Mbps and 100+Mbps (unlimited) for R200 per “level”, going to R759 and R959 per month, respectively.

Axxess doesn’t designate its uncapped fixed-5G products based on speeds, instead offering a best-effort service on all of its packages.

It differentiates its uncapped fixed-5G products based on the usage limit before throttling is applied to the connection.

Therefore, its customers are essentially paying for higher data allocations before throttling as they go up the subscription tiers.

Its top-tier Axxess Ultra 5G plan features a 1,600GB for best-effort speeds, after which they are throttled to 2Mbps.

It should be noted that although Vodacom offers fixed-5G products, it implements a hard cap once a certain threshold is met. Therefore, its products aren’t truly uncapped and weren’t included in this comparison.

The table below compares the uncapped fixed-5G packages available in South Africa.

It should be noted that Telkom’s uncapped 5G products are only available on 24- or 36-month contracts. Prices shown are for 24-month contracts.

Uncapped 5G packages
Package Fair Usage Policy (FUP) Router included Price
10Mbps – 30Mbps
MyMTN Home Starter (10Mbps) After 100GB usage: Speeds throttled to 2Mbps Free-to-use on month-to-month R249
MyMTN Home Pro (20Mbps) After 300GB usage: Speeds throttled to 5Mbps Free-to-use on month-to-month R399
RainOne  None Free-to-use on month-to-month R559
30Mbps – 50Mbps
MyMTN Home Premium (35Mbps) After 500GB usage: Speeds throttled to 10Mbps Free-to-use on month-to-month R499
Afrihost Pure 5G 50Mbps After 1TB usage: Throttled to 2Mbps No, must bring or buy your own for R2,999 R749
Telkom 5G 50Mbps Unlimited After 500GB usage: Throttled to 4Mbps
After 550GB usage: Throttled to 2Mbps
Owned after 24- or 36-month contract R979 (Indoor) R1,167 (Outdoor)
60Mbps
MyMTN Home Ultra (60Mbps) After 800GB usage: Speeds throttled to 10Mbps Free-to-use on month-to-month R699
RainOne + 60Mbps upgrade None Free-to-use on month-to-month R759
100Mbps
Afrihost Pure 5G 100Mbps After 1TB usage: Throttled to 2Mbps No, must bring or buy your own for R2,999 R849
RainOne + 100Mbps upgrade None Free-to-use on month-to-month R959
Telkom 5G 100Mbps Unlimited After 1TB usage: Throttled to 4Mbps
After 1.05TB usage: Throttled to 2Mbps
Owned after 24- or 36-month contract R1,129 (Indoor) R1,317 (Outdoor)
500Mbps
Axxess Standard 5G After 300GB usage: Throttled to 2Mbps No, must bring or buy own for R1,999 R449
Axxess Pro 5G After 600GB usage: Throttled to 2Mbps No, must bring or buy own for R1,999 R759
Axxess Pro+ 5G After 1TB usage: Throttled to 2Mbps No, must bring or buy own for R1,999 R959
Axxess Ultra 5G After 1.6TB usage: Throttled to 2Mbps No, must bring or buy own for R1,999 R1,459
Best effort (no package speed limit)
Supersonic Home 5G Lite After 400GB usage: Throttled to 2Mbps Free-to-use on month-to-month R699
Afrihost Pure 5G Unlimited After 1TB usage: Throttled to 1Mbps Free if subscription stays active for 6 months R949
MyMTN Home Infinite After 1.5TB usage: Speeds throttled to 15Mbps Free-to-use on month-to-month R999
Supersonic Home 5G Premium After 1TB usage: Throttled to 2Mbps Free-to-use on month-to-month R999
Telkom 5G No Limits Unlimited After 2TB usage: Throttled to 4Mbps
After 2.05TB: Throttled to 2Mbps
Owned after 24- or 36-month contract R1,229 (Indoor) R1,417 (Outdoor)

Now read: Rain’s mobile roaming deal with Vodacom — and eSIM plans

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