Huawei dominates mobile network speeds in South Africa

Analytico data has revealed that residents in areas covered by Huawei’s radio equipment receive the best download and upload speeds.

The report is based on tests performed by MyBroadband speed test app users and controlled drive tests conducted throughout 2022.

MyBroadband’s speed test servers are hosted at Teraco’s vendor-neutral data centres to ensure carrier-neutral testing.

All network operators at NAPAfrica peering points have a free 10Gbps connection to the MyBroadband speed test platform.

We used speed test results recorded throughout 2022 to determine the average speeds and latencies that subscribers to South Africa’s mobile operators get from network equipment vendors Ericsson, Huawei, Nokia, and ZTE.

Telkom is the only mobile operator that uses only one network equipment vendor — Huawei — while Vodacom and Rain use Nokia’s and Huawei’s equipment.

MTN uses radio equipment from Huawei, Ericsson, and ZTE to provide connectivity to its customers.

It should be noted that factors other than radio vendor equipment choice impact network performance, including core architecture, backhaul capacity, and network optimisation.

Mobile operator investment in certain areas also has an impact. For example, operators typically concentrate the network investments in cities and other highly populated areas, meaning they often receive better speeds.

A comparison of the radio equipment network vendors used by South Africa’s mobile operators is provided below.

MTN

MTN is the only mobile operator in South Africa to use more than two radio equipment vendors. Huawei reigned supreme in terms of its three vendors’ download and upload speeds — Huawei, Ericsson, and ZTE.

ZTE, which recorded the lowest download and upload speeds for MTN, performed best in terms of latency.

Vodacom

Vodacom uses radio equipment from Huawei and Nokia for its network. Huawei’s equipment took the top spot regarding download and upload speeds, while Nokia offered slightly better latency.

Telkom

Telkom’s entire network relies on Huawei radio equipment. Its network performance is worse than MTN and Vodacom, but it performed better than Rain.

Rain

Rain uses radio equipment from the same vendors as Vodacom — Huawei and Nokia. Rain users in areas covered by Huawei equipment recorded higher download and upload speeds. Nokia once again provided slightly better latency.

Vendor performance summary

Now read: How much data the average Vodacom customer uses each month