Best and worst mobile networks for the Gautrain

MyBroadband tested the mobile data performance on the entire Gautrain line and found that MTN and Vodacom performed best.

The Gautrain is a high-speed commuter rail system which stretches between Hatfield in Pretoria and Park Station in Johannesburg.

The train also has a link from its Malboro and Sandton stations, extending to O.R. Tambo International Airport.

Many commuters spend a lot of time on the train, as it allows them to skip regular road traffic between the Johannesburg and Pretoria metros.

Mobile network coverage was spotty when MyBroadband tested it in the past, especially in the Johannesburg area, which has more underground sections and tunnels.

MyBroadband tested the coverage and speeds of all five networks on all the sections of the Gautrain to see if there has been any improvement.

Overall coverage is calculated by checking how many speed tests a device could complete out of a theoretical maximum for the testing period.

This results in close competition at the top, with MTN, Telkom and Vodacom achieving 85%, 84%, and 83%, respectively. Cell C was not far behind at 79%.

Vodacom and MTN were the only networks with 5G coverage along the route, at 37% and 36% each.

Vodacom was the clear winner when it comes to 5G speeds, as they achieved an average of 194Mbps download speeds compared to MTNs 123Mbps.

These results were the inverse when looking at 4G, where MTN averaged over 100Mbps, and Vodacom dropped to third place with 69Mbps.

Cell C has shown the biggest improvement since our last test, coming much closer to MTN performance with an average of 94Mbps on 4G.

We filtered the data to count only tests with at least 5Mbps download and 2Mbps upload speeds to calculate a coverage level with more usable speeds.

MTN was the clear winner here, with 80% coverage, while Cell C came in second place with 74% and Telkom and Vodacom dropped to 66% and 65%.

MTN is the overall winner for anyone looking for mobile internet access onboard the Gautrain.

If you need very high data speeds, Vodacom may be a better option, but you may also experience more connectivity drops.