Mobile data price lie in South Africa

An analysis by MyBroadband shows that South Africa’s mobile data prices are cheaper than the global average and very affordable compared to other African countries.

South African consumers often complain about high mobile data prices, while businesses and civil society regularly cite the prices as inhibitors to bridging the country’s digital divide.

The perception has been amplified by government officials who have repeatedly called for mobile data prices to fall.

However, the truth is a bit more complicated.

Firstly, developed countries with cheaper data have more spectrum as they have already switched to fully digital television and radio broadcasting and, in some cases, shut down legacy 2G and 3G network services.

South African networks have limited spectrum compared to the country’s cellular service demand, partly due to the more than decade-long delay in migrating from analogue to digital broadcasting.

This issue is exacerbated by a large part of the South African population relying on mobile broadband, whereas fixed connectivity is better established in developed markets like Europe, the UK, and the US.

These markets also have higher average incomes, enabling customers to buy higher-end data packages with bigger allocations or uncapped throttled data.

These packages have cheaper per-GB costs than entry-level bundles, which are in lower demand in those markets because they offer less value for money.

Many Vodacom, MTN, Telkom, and Cell C customers cannot afford larger bundles, so the operators must sell entry-level packages with lower data allocations.

While these may be cheaper than the most popular plans in affluent markets, they carry a higher per-GB cost.

“Entry level” also has a different definition in South Africa.

Here, an operator might offer 1GB of data valid for one day for R1, whereas in more mature economies a package that costs €10 per month might be considered entry-level.

Despite these challenges, South Africa’s networks have significantly reduced their effective mobile data prices while drastically increasing their networks’ population coverage and performance since mobile Internet launched in South Africa two decades ago.

Another issue is the primary source that critics of South Africa’s mobile data prices often cite as the basis for their high-cost arguments — a Cable.co.uk report.

In the comparison of 1GB mobile data package prices analysed between June and September 2023, South Africa ranked 149th out of 237 countries.

However, what is often overlooked is that the country’s $1.81 average 1GB data price was 30% lower than the global average of $2.59.

Cable.co.uk also found that the average cost of 1GB of mobile data in South Africa decreased by 76.7% between 2019 and 2023, compared with a 68.09% reduction globally.

It should also be emphasised that Cable.co.uk looks only at the prices of 1GB data bundles, whereas the average South African mobile Internet user consumes larger data bundles with a lower per GB price.

South Africa among cheapest in Africa relative to salaries

It would also be fairer to compare South Africa’s prices with other Sub-Saharan African countries with similar telecom operating conditions and economies.

Cable.co.uk’s data showed that South Africa’s 1GB price was 45% cheaper than the $3.31 average across the region.

Just six Sub-Saharan African countries ranked in the top 50 cheapest in the world, with Malawi being the most affordable at $0.38 per 1GB bundle.

However, Worlddata showed that the country’s average monthly income was about $53, compared with South Africa’s $563.

The price of 1GB of mobile data in Malawi was 0.72% of the average income in that country, whereas the average South African would spend 0.32% of their salary on the same data.

While South Africa is only the 31st cheapest in the region, its mobile data price relative to income is lower than seven of the 10 African countries with the cheapest 1GB mobile data.

Another factor to consider is mobile network performance. Having a low price is of little benefit if the service is poor or unusable.

According to Speedtest.net’s Global Index, South Africa has the fastest median download speeds of any African country, apart from Mauritius, which is less populated and far smaller, making it easier to cover with connectivity.

The table below compares South Africa’s mobile data prices and network performance ranking with the top 10 cheapest and most expensive Sub-Saharan countries for 1GB of mobile data.