Vodacom announces contract and fibre price hikes

Vodacom has announced tariff hikes for its postpaid and fibre products in South Africa, effective from 1 April 2024.

Vodacom said the average customer’s bill using these products would be increased by 4.6%, lower than the 5.3% increase in headline inflation announced by Statistics South Africa for January 2024.

“The decision comes at a time when Vodacom continues to invest heavily into maintaining network resilience to deliver an enhanced customer experience,” the mobile network said.

It also cited various challenges the industry faces that increase operational costs for mobile operators — including base station vandalism and battery theft, load-shedding, currency weakness, and high inflation.

As part of the adjustments, postpaid tariffs and recurring and once-off bundles would increase by an average of 8% during May 2024.

Fibre customers can expect a 5% average increase on selected fibre plans, Vodacom added.

Vodacom South Africa consumer business director Rishaad Tayob said the operator was “fully alert” to the financial pressures on customers caused by the high cost of living.

“To help cushion customers from impacts of higher increases, the likes of insurance premiums, hardware and device costs, valued-added-services, and out-of-bundle rates remain unchanged,” said Tayob.

Customers on the Red Integrated and Red VIP plans will also get up to 11% extra data, while those on Flexi plans will continue to get additional airtime.

Tayob said that Vodacom remained committed to contributing to the growth and resilience of the country’s economy while offering customers the best value, a robust network, affordable pricing structure, and an exceptional customer experience.

Vodacom published the following pages on its website summarising the price adjustments:

• Vodacom Red Flexi plans price changes for 2024
• Vodacom RED Integrated and VIP plans price changes for 2024
• Vodacom Mobile Broadband Plans and Internet plans price changes for 2024

Rishaad Tayob, Vodacom South Africa consumer business director