Great support from South Africa’s mobile operators
MyBroadband tested the quickest ways to get human support from South Africa’s major mobile networks and found that it was possible to reach a person within two minutes at all of them.
Often, when you are struggling with a product or service, customers really want to speak to a human support agent for help.
However, this became increasingly difficult during 2025 as AI support options supplanted traditional call centres.
Research firm Gartner predicted in 2022 that AI would cut contact centre labour costs by more than $80 billion (approximately R1.55 billion) by 2026.
In April 2024, Tata Consultancy Services CEO K Krithivasan told the Financial Times that within twelve months, adoption of the technology would result in a “minimal” need for traditional call centres.
However, Nic Laschinger, Euphoria Telecom’s chief technology officer, previously told MyBroadband that where AI excels is in efficiently managing high volumes of simple queries.
“It’s an attractive prospect for any business or contact centre, but that efficiency should never come at the cost of empathy.”
“At the end of the day, people are still people who are looking for a connection or empathy, especially in complex and emotional cases.”
MyBroadband called the support numbers for each mobile network to determine which one offered the fastest option to speak with a human support agent.
We found no clear winner, as it took around two minutes to get through to a support agent after listening to all the menu options for each mobile operator.
Vodacom, MTN, Telkom and Cell C each still feature support numbers that users can dial. Knowing the correct menu options to select will enable customers to reach a human support agent quickly.
Their support numbers can be called from the number having a problem, or from a different number to help solve issues on a number that may be unable to make calls.
All these support numbers feature answering systems that try to guide you to specific solutions, without connecting you to a support agent.
However, with some trial and error, we were able to identify the menu options that enable customers to speak with someone. These are summarised in the following table.
| Network | Support number | Menu procedure |
|---|---|---|
| Vodacom | 135 / 082 135 | Confirm number, 2, 2 |
| MTN | 135 / 083 135 | Confirm number, 3, 0 |
| Telkom | 081 180 | Confirm number, language, 2 |
| Cell C | 135 / 084 135 | Confirm number, 3, 9 |
| Rain | 081 610 1000 | 1, Confirm number, 3, 6 |
Vodacom
As dictated by Icasa regulations, Vodacom lets users dial 135 for support, or 082 135 when calling from a different network.
After calling, we confirmed the number we were calling about, pressed 2 for general support, and pressed 2 again for connectivity and Internet support, after which we were put through to an agent.
MTN
MTN also uses the 135 number for support, which becomes 083 135 when called from other networks.
After entering our details, we pressed 3 on the first menu to get to services, where we were given the option to press 0 to speak to a service champion.
Telkom
While all mobile operators must allow subscribers to use the 135 shortcode for customer care services, Telkom also continues to support its established 081 180 number.
When calling, we were asked to enter the number we were calling about. After entering it, we could select the language we wanted to be helped in.
We encountered a bug when entering a prepaid number, which told us our account is in arrears, but then reverted to saying there were technical difficulties before getting to the owed amount, after which it went through to the menu.
In this menu, pressing 2 for customer service gets you through to a human operator.
Cell C
Cell C also uses the 135 number for support when dialled from a Cell C number. When dialling from a different number, subscribers must call 084 135.
At the first menu, we pressed 3 for the customer service centre, then, after confirming the number we were calling about, we were given the option to press 9 to speak to an agent.
Rain
Rain support encourages users to use the “askrain” chatbot on the Rain website, but also has a call centre option at 081 610 1000.
After calling this number, we pressed 1 for support. We could then enter the number we were calling about, press 3 for mobile support, and then 6 for other queries to get through to a human support agent.
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