South Africa’s Next Mobile Shift: Voice Calling Without the Airtime Anxiety
At a time when many households under financial pressure, prepaid customers in particular are demanding mobile services that stretch every rand and cut out complexity.
Recent Stats SA’s General Household Survey 2024 national survey data shows that mobile devices are now the primary way households access the internet, with more than while 75.6% accessed the internet using mobile devices. Only 17.4% had fixed internet at home.
Mobile connectivity is now part of daily life, from family updates and school coordination to job hunting, side hustles, safety and small business.
Mobile connections far exceed the population as many people use more than one SIM or connection for different parts of their lives.
Data shows that there were 124 million cellular mobile connections in January 2025, equal to 193% of the population.
But for prepaid customers, staying connected can still mean watching every rand, topping up in small amounts and trying to avoid running out of airtime at the wrong time.
Telkom’s Voice Disruption responds to that reality by moving voice away from a standalone, metered service and placing it inside broader data-led propositions.
The aim is to make calling feel like a more natural part of the customer’s mobile bundle, rather than another separate cost to manage.
“The way people communicate has changed, and mobile products have to reflect that,” says Lunga Siyo, CEO of Telkom Consumer. “Customers move between data, apps, messaging, video and voice throughout the day. We want to make that experience simpler, more predictable and better aligned with how South Africans already use their phones.”
The approach also recognises that Telkom customers use their phones in different ways. Some are app-first users who rely heavily on WhatsApp and mobile data.
Others still depend on voice calls for work, family and safety. Many households include both smartphone users and people on basic handsets, while 2G customers still need affordable, reliable calling.
A student may need data for learning, WhatsApp for group messages and a voice call to reach home. A job seeker may use mobile data to search but still need a call when an employer responds.
A small business owner may move between messaging customers, taking calls and checking payments in the same hour.
This is built around these everyday patterns. Selected propositions combine data with voice benefits, while others support customers who rely heavily on calls or who need WhatsApp access alongside traditional voice. Customers buy connectivity that matches how they live, while voice becomes part of the value they receive.
The move also reflects where the mobile market is heading. More communication now happens over data-based platforms, which has changed the commercial role of voice.
Telkom’s data-led position gives it room to rethink voice and build it into a broader customer offer.
“For years, customers have had to think about voice and data as separate things,” says Siyo. “That creates friction, especially in prepaid, where people are managing spend carefully. We see an opportunity to make voice part of a broader data-led experience, so customers can focus on staying connected rather than constantly calculating what each call will cost.”
For customers, the practical benefit is easier planning. Airtime depletion, complex bundles and unclear usage rules can make mobile spend feel harder than it needs to.
Telkom’s approach aims to make the value more visible, especially for customers who recharge often, manage tight budgets and need their phones to work across several parts of their lives.
This goes beyond affordability. Customers want mobile options that are clear, practical and built around how they use their phones.
“Connectivity has become part of how people work, look for income, support their families and run small businesses,” says Siyo. “That makes affordability important, but it also makes simplicity important. Customers want value they can understand and use without having complicated choices every time they recharge.”
This also gives Telkom a clearer position in a competitive market. Instead of treating voice as a legacy service, the company is placing it inside a data-led mobile experience, where it can support a broader connectivity offer built around real customer behaviour.
“Voice still has an important role in the market,” says Siyo. “The opportunity now is to place it where it makes sense for customers, inside a more integrated connectivity offer. This is part of Telkom’s broader commitment to value, relevance and a mobile experience built around real customer behaviour.”
ICASA’s latest sector report shows why the move makes sense. In 2025, prepaid mobile data revenue rose by 7.7%, while prepaid mobile voice revenue fell by 7.6% and prepaid messaging revenue dropped by 49.2%. The regulator links this to growing use of app-based services such as WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal, as well as pressure on customers to cut spending on older services. Telkom’s Voice Disruption strategy responds to that market change by building voice into a data-led prepaid offer.
To buy any of these bundles or find out more, customers can dial *180#,visit Telkom, or follow Telkom on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and Twitter.
Click here to learn more about Telkom’s Voice options.
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