South Africa’s mobile data prices declined by 99.9% since 2000
The price of a megabyte of mobile data from South Africa’s largest cellular network has reduced by roughly 99.9% over the last 25 years.
Mobile data costs are a sensitive issue in South Africa, with customers and politicians often accusing operators of charging exorbitant fees for the service.
Many people cannot afford uncapped packages or don’t have access to fixed-line broadband products or wireless alternatives, making capped mobile data their only option.
Mobile connectivity is the most common way South Africans access the Internet, often via capped bundles.
The heavy reliance on mobile tower infrastructure puts cellular providers in a difficult spot. While they want to offer affordable data to maximise use and generate revenue, they could overload their networks.
Although some African countries have considerably lower data prices than South Africa, many have smaller and less urbanised populations with less congestion, as well as lower average incomes.
The issue of data validity periods was recently also scrutinised by Parliament’s portfolio committee on trade, industry, and competition.
Chairman Mzwandline Masina argued that data bundles and prepaid vouchers should be subject to Section 63 of the Consumer Protection Act, which requires a three-year validity period unless a longer period is agreed upon.
Mobile networks have cautioned that making this change would result in data prices converging to a higher price point.
“The ultimate consequence would be higher data prices across the board,” Vodacom said. “Low-income consumers who rely on affordable, short-term bundles would be disproportionately affected.”
A MyBroadband analysis of mobile data prices on Vodacom’s network shows that it has become far more affordable since the turn of the century.
In 2000, one megabyte of mobile data on Vodacom’s network cost R45. At that point, the latest generation of cellular connectivity was 2G, which offered speeds up to 40kbps.
Applications that relied on mobile Internet were still limited, with personal communication primarily carried over traditional voice calls and SMS.
3G and 4G increase capacity
Vodacom’s launch of 3G in 2003 not only introduced megabit speeds but supported much wider bandwidth of 5MHz, compared to the 200kHz of 2G.
Coupled with more advanced modulation schemes, capacity was greatly increased. Within two years, the effective cost of a MB of data had dropped to R0.60, based on the R1,198 price of a 2GB prepaid bundle.
With infrastructure expanding greatly over the next five years, the price of a 2.4GB monthly bundle had plummeted to R389 by 2010, with an effective per-MB cost of R0.16.
The next major cellular technology leap came in 2011, when Vodacom and MTN rolled out 4G, improving data speeds and capacity to support applications that previously required fixed Internet connections.
By 2015, the effective per-MB price on a Vodacom 2GB data bundle priced at R249 was R0.12. Over the next five years, prices stagnated due to radiofrequency spectrum constraints.
However, between 2020 and 2022, prices decreased further as mobile networks got access to emergency spectrum to increase capacity during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Vodacom and MTN also rolled out mobile 5G, which introduced further speed and bandwidth improvements, enabling more price cuts.
This trend continued with networks obtaining longer-term access to spectrum following the first spectrum auction in 2022.
From R45 to 6 cents
When adjusted for inflation, R45 in 2000 would be worth roughly R169 in 2025.
With that money, a Vodacom prepaid customer could buy a 2.5GB monthly bundle at R155 and get R14 change.
The effective cost per MB of data of this product is R0.06, 99.87% cheaper than in 2000. Roughly the same per-MB price applies to the 1.2GB, 1.5GB, 4.5GB, 7GB, and 12GB bundles.
From another perspective, with the R45 that you could buy just one MB of prepaid data on Vodacom’s network in 2000, you can buy 315MB of data in 2025.
Contrast this with the fact that R45 could buy you 15 cans of Coca-Cola in 2000 but just three in 2025, and it becomes undeniable — South Africa’s mobile data prices have become much cheaper.
The effective cost per MB on the largest Vodacom prepaid 30-day bundles with 60GB and 120GB data in 2025 is R0.01.
The table below shows how the prices of 1MB of mobile data changed between 2000 and 2025.
| Year | Price per MB out of bundle | Price per MB in bundle | Bundle size and price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Unavailable | R45 | Unknown |
| 2005 | R2.00 | R0.60 | 2GB — R1,198 |
| 2010 | R1.20 | R0.16 | 2.4GB — R389 |
| 2015 | R2.00 | R0.12 | 2GB — R249 |
| 2020 | R0.49 | R0.12 | 2.4GB — R299 |
| 2025 | R0.31 | R0.06 | 2.5GB — R155 |
| Change | -84.50% | -99.87% |
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