Vodacom data prices rival Telkom for high-end packages

An analysis by MyBroadband shows that Vodacom’s mobile data prices are not too far off Telkom’s for high-end packages and offer better coverage and speeds.

Telkom has positioned itself as offering affordable and value-oriented mobile products with a strong focus on data.

“Telkom Mobile has been transformational in driving down the cost of data in South Africa by providing value-rich broadband products and services,” the company said.

The company has shown strong growth on the back of the value it offers to customers and its personalised pricing platform, Mo’Nice.

Telkom’s mobile subscriber base grew by 14.6% to 21.2 million, and mobile revenue increased by 4.5% to R22.6 billion.

The operator said this growth was fuelled by its “continuous delivery of innovative and value-oriented offerings”.

It raises the question of whether Telkom offers significantly better value for money than South Africa’s largest mobile operator, Vodacom.

A comprehensive like-for-like comparison of mobile data products is challenging because of the volume of offerings in the market.

For this comparison, MyBroadband only looked at large contract data bundles, which are popular among South African smartphone users.

With the advent of WhatsApp messaging and calling, many South Africans have moved away from using voice minutes and SMSes.

They purchase large data bundles for their smartphones to meet all their communication needs. The most affordable data packages are offered on contracts.

MyBroadband’s analysis shows that Vodacom’s large contract data bundles range between R16.90 and R1.90 per GB for anytime data.

The average price per GB for Telkom’s large contract data bundles ranges between R7.92 and R2.05.

Vodacom’s data contracts are more expensive for lower data volumes. However, for data packages of 100 GB and over, it becomes price-competitive, and at 200 GB, it overtakes Telkom in price-per-GB.

However, that only tells part of the story. Vodacom’s products should be expected to be more expensive as it offers a superior network experience.

Telkom’s products listed in this article are only available on the operator’s 4G network, and there is no roaming. There is also no 5G connectivity for these products.

“Should a subscriber use LTE Data Plan post-paid service for mobility purposes, Telkom shall not be liable for lack of LTE network coverage, reliability, or throughput outside its fixed LTE coverage areas,” it warned.

Vodacom’s products, in comparison, offer 4G and 5G access, and its 4G network has over 98% population coverage in South Africa.

Telkom’s 4G network is much smaller than Vodacom. Only 46% of Telkom’s mobile data traffic is routed through its own 4G network.

Vodacom’s data network quality is also much higher than Telkom’s. Its average data speed of 79.70 Mbps is significantly higher than Telkom’s 32.29 Mbps in the Q2 2024 Mobile Network Quality Report.

The tables below compare Vodacom and Telkom’s mobile data prices for high-end smartphone data contracts.