Fastest uncapped Internet for under R500 per month
The fastest download speed available on sub-R500 uncapped Internet packages in South Africa is 500Mbps, a comparison by MyBroadband shows.
Fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) is generally considered the best value for money among uncapped Internet products for home users.
However, this typically applies to FTTH packages with higher speeds of more than 100Mbps, which are commonly priced well above R500.
When it comes to products below that price point, fixed-5G and fixed-LTE are highly competitive.
MyBroadband found that the fastest download speed available on an FTTH package for under R500 in South Africa was 50Mbps.
In addition, these plans are mostly limited to specialized lower-income-focused networks — including Frogfoot Air and Openserve Web Connect.
Households or small work-from-home businesses that need a high bandwidth link might want to check coverage for fixed-5G in their area.
This technology offers the fastest peak download speeds for any uncapped Internet products priced below R500 per month.
While Rain once dominated with its affordable fixed-5G plans starting below R500, Vodacom and MTN superseded it in this price segment, rapidly expanding their 5G networks over the last four years.
In addition to selling fixed-5G plans themselves, both these mobile networks offer these products through third-party Internet service provider (ISP) Axxess.
Users on both networks can enjoy best-effort download speeds of up to 500Mbps on Axxess’s plans, with entry-level options available for less than R500 per month.
On MTN’s network, the Axxess plan is priced at R449 per month, with a fair usage policy (FUP) that drops speeds to 2Mbps after the first 300GB of consumption.
The Axxess fixed-5G option on Vodacom’s network is slightly more expensive at R499 per month, but comes with an additional 50GB allowance before speeds are reduced to 2Mbps.
The most affordable uncapped Internet product with speeds in the triple digits is Supersonic’s entry-level fixed-5G plan, priced at R399 per month.
Running on MTN’s network, it can achieve speeds of up to 200Mbps for the first 400GB of consumption in a month. Thereafter, speeds are throttled to 10Mbps.
There were also several fixed-LTE packages that matched the 50Mbps top speeds of FTTH products under R500.
These were priced from as low as R369 per month.
However, fixed-LTE plans generally have more stringent fair usage policies (FUPs) than fixed-5G to conserve radio frequency spectrum and avoid degrading the network experience for other users.
FTTH plans more stable and free of FUPs
On the subject of FUPs, it should be highlighted that FTTH plans generally don’t limit speeds after a certain amount of consumption in the month.
FTTH is also most likely to achieve its advertised speeds due to relying on fixed infrastructure with extensive capacity.
In addition, FTTH technology is more stable and has the lowest latency.
The latter will be particularly important for users who make frequent video or voice calls or enjoy competitive online gaming.
Those who value these characteristics and prefer to spend less than R500 per month might find better value in a slower FTTH package with speeds from 15Mbps to 30Mbps, which is generally fast enough for small households.
The other benefit of FTTH plans is that they most often include a free-to-use router, whereas fixed-5G or fixed-LTE plans require that the user buy their router, unless they take up a contract like on Telkom.
The table below compares FTTH, fixed-5G, and fixed-LTE uncapped home broadband packages with the fastest download speeds for under R500 per month.
The products are ranked according to speed. Where more than one package has the same speed, preference is given to less stringent FUPs before lower pricing.
| ISP/network | Technology | Price | Fair usage policy and router | Maximum download speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Axxess/Vodacom | Fixed-5G | R495 | After first 350GB in month: Speed throttled to 2Mbps Router required and available for R1,499 | Up to 500Mbps |
| Axxess/MTN | Fixed-5G | R449 | After first 300GB in month: Speed throttled to 2Mbps Router required and available for R1,499 | Up to 500Mbps |
| Supersonic/MTN | Fixed-5G | R399 | After first 400GB in month: Speed throttled to 10Mbps Free-to-use router included | Up to 200Mbps |
| Webafrica/Frogfoot Air | FTTH | R429 | None, free-to-use router included | 50Mbps |
| Axxess/Vodacom | Fixed-LTE | R499 | After first 300GB in month: Speed throttled to 2Mbps Router required and available for R1,499 | Up to 50Mbps |
| Afrihost/MTN | Fixed-LTE | R399 | After first 150GB in month: Speed throttled to 2Mbps Router required and available for R1,499 | Up to 50Mbps |
| Axxess/MTN | Fixed-LTE | R369 | After first 100GB in month: Speed throttled to 2Mbps Router required and available for R1,499 | Up to 50Mbps |
| Webafrica/Openserve Web Connect | FTTH | R389 | None, free-to-use router included | 40Mbps |
| Webafrica/MetroFibre Nova | FTTH | R499 | None, free-to-use router included | 40Mbps |
| Telkom | Fixed-5G | R499 | After first 1TB in month: Speed throttled to 4Mbps After 1.05TB in month: Speed throttled to 2Mbps Router included on contract | Up to 40Mbps |
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