Interesting trend in South Africa’s neighbourhoods with the highest broadband speeds
The results of the Q4 2021 MyBroadband Insights speed test reveal that mobile broadband speeds in South Africa’s top neighbourhoods are significantly higher than average fixed broadband speeds.
For these results, MyBroadband Insights used data collected from MyBroadband’s Android and iOS speed test apps between 1 October 2021 and 31 December 2021.
MyBroadband Insights collected 470,766 fixed broadband results and 379,132 mobile broadband results during the period.
MyBroadband’s speed test servers are hosted in Teraco’s vendor-neutral data centres to ensure a neutral testing environment.
Through NAPAfrica, all network operators present at its peering points are provided with a free 10Gbps connection to the MyBroadband Speed Test platform.
The report revealed that Bryanston, Randpark Ridge, and Umhlanga Ridge were the neighbourhoods with the highest average mobile broadband speed.
It further showed that Bryanston, Garsfontein, and Equestria recorded the highest average fixed broadband speeds.
What stood out is that the average mobile speeds in the top neighbourhoods were much higher than the average fixed broadband speeds.
In Bryanston, for example, the average mobile download speed in Q4 2021 was 118Mbps — much higher than the average fixed broadband speed of 55Mbps.
This trend, although interesting, is not unexpected.
In recent years, advances in mobile technologies, like 4G and 5G, have significantly increased the mobile broadband speeds South Africans enjoy.
An even more significant contributor to the slowed fixed broadband speeds is that most consumers purchase low-end fixed broadband packages.
Unlike mobile broadband, which offers the maximum speed by default, fixed broadband packages — like fibre, DSL, and 5G — are priced differently based on speed.
Slower speeds cost less, and most households opt for the cheapest option. This, in turn, leads to lower average fixed broadband speeds.
The tables below show the South African neighbourhoods with the highest average mobile and fixed broadband speeds.
| Best Neighbourhoods for Mobile Broadband in Q4 2021 | |||||
| Neighbourhood | Average Download Speed (Mbps) | Average Upload Speed (Mbps) | Average Latency (ms) | Minimum Download Speed (Mbps) | Maximum Download Speed (Mbps) |
| Bryanston | 118.12 | 25.42 | 26 | 0.05 | 534.46 |
| Randpark Ridge | 101.18 | 23.74 | 37 | 0.84 | 489.04 |
| Umhlanga Ridge | 83.41 | 18.27 | 35 | 0.05 | 459.84 |
| Weltevredenpark | 74.26 | 20.46 | 28 | 0.34 | 371.90 |
| Moreleta Park | 69.79 | 13.27 | 34 | 0.01 | 522.35 |
| Woodlands | 67.20 | 19.45 | 37 | 0.06 | 422.71 |
| Century City | 66.94 | 15.70 | 41 | 0.09 | 501.81 |
| Morningside | 65.05 | 17.22 | 28 | 0.34 | 524.05 |
| Newlands | 52.69 | 17.60 | 40 | 0.27 | 488.68 |
| Table View | 48.37 | 12.37 | 28 | 0.02 | 568.64 |
| Best Neighbourhoods for Fixed Broadband in Q4 2021 | |||||
| Neighbourhood | Average Download Speed (Mbps) | Average Upload Speed (Mbps) | Average Latency (ms) | Minimum Download Speed (Mbps) | Maximum Download Speed (Mbps) |
| Bryanston | 55.47 | 47.07 | 48 | 0.64 | 336.2 |
| Garsfontein | 55.03 | 42.08 | 30 | 0.23 | 373.97 |
| Equestria | 54.00 | 33.42 | 19 | 1.12 | 267.57 |
| Pierre van Ryneveld Park | 52.07 | 36.22 | 26 | 1.03 | 308.42 |
| Northriding | 51.46 | 42.36 | 30 | 0.19 | 399.67 |
| Die Hoewes | 49.15 | 31.37 | 33 | 0.11 | 306.57 |
| Brackenhurst | 48.48 | 37.78 | 27 | 0.57 | 529.55 |
| Rooihuiskraal | 48.29 | 37.22 | 26 | 1.37 | 255.60 |
| Wonderboom South | 48.09 | 38.62 | 32 | 1.37 | 314.96 |
| The Reeds | 47.82 | 35.43 | 34 | 0.11 | 475.53 |
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