Rain mobile 5G launch plans

South African mobile network operator Rain plans to launch mobile 5G services sometime in 2025, six years after it introduced the country to the latest cellular network technology.

The company confirmed the new rollout timeframe in recent feedback to MyBroadband.

The development would make Rain the fourth operator to offer mobile 5G on its network, following Vodacom, MTN, and Telkom.

Rain became the first network in South Africa to offer 5G connectivity when it launched its Premium fixed-5G plan in September 2019.

In the months that followed, it rolled out two more affordable fixed-5G plans with speed caps.

The products were a major disruptor in uncapped broadband, offering fibre-like speeds and latency for many households without access to fibre-to-the-home connectivity, at similar prices.

However, the only way to access the service is through a router in a fixed location. There is no support for use in smartphones or other moveable products.

The launch of Rain mobile 5G has been a long time coming.

Rain’s biggest shareholder, African Rainbow Capital (ARC), previously said the company would roll out mobile 5G last year.

In September 2022, ARC co-CEO Johan van Zyl said the company would launch mobile 5G “within a year,” adding that South Africans should expect it in early 2023.

However, in March 2023, Rain founder and director Michael Jordaan revealed in an interview on PSG Think Big that a nationwide mobile 4G service would be the first focus, with mobile 5G following.

Jordaan apologised for the information slipping out in a post on X, which he later deleted.

Sure enough, Rain launched its fully-fledged mobile 4G network with support for conventional calling and SMS in May 2023, less than two months after Jordaan spilt the beans.

Rain’s mobile 5G network will compete not only against the major operators but also several mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), including Afrihost Air Mobile and Melon Mobile.

Cell C is also currently testing 5G on its virtual radio access network, which operates on Vodacom and MTN’s infrastructure.

The two biggest operators already cover roughly 50% of the population with their mobile 5G connectivity.

Disruptive Rain products facing tougher competition

From its launch in early 2018, Rain quickly garnered a reputation for disruptive cellular products, including uncapped mobile Internet products that no other operators would offer due to concerns over network congestion.

Rain’s more recent product strategy with its RainOne bundle, which became its sole product for new users in May 2023, has some shortcomings.

For more than a year, the only way for new customers to access its 4G services was to sign up for a fixed-5G plan.

That leaves out many potential customers who already have other uncapped broadband for their home.

Rain rolled out new standalone 4G plans with voice minutes, SMSs, and mobile data starting from R165 per month in August 2024.

The pricing of this product is more expensive than options with similar or more minutes and SMSs from Afrihost Air Mobile and Telkom.

Rain has also seen intensified competition from the bigger networks on the fixed-5G front.

Vodacom, MTN, and Telkom all offer uncapped 5G plans with starting prices lower than Rain’s most affordable 30Mbps plan.

One area where it has the upper hand is its fair usage policy. Rain does not throttle users’ speeds regardless of how much data they consume.

Despite these developments, Rain’s majority shareholder maintains it is performing well and seeing strong growth.

In its most recent financial results, ARC valued the company at R24.95 billion, more than Telkom, and said that Rain was profitable when measured on its EBITDA performance.

Rain also told MyBroadband it had “exciting” product launches in the year ahead, with more details to be revealed at a later stage.

The table below compares Rain’s packages with offers from its competition.