Unlimited calling showdown in South Africa

South Africa’s two cellular giants and several mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) offer affordable month-to-month packages bundling uncapped or near-uncapped voice minutes and SMSs with large data allocations.

Although there are cheaper data-only packages on the market, many customers are willing to pay a bit extra for the “worry-free” experience that comes with unlimited calls and large data bundles.

Local uncapped calling plans were previously primarily limited to high-end contracts in South Africa, such as Vodacom’s Red VIP and MTN Sky plans, which often had prices over R1,000 per month.

In recent years, conventional cellular and telephonic voice traffic has plummeted as South Africans have increasingly shifted to voice-over-IP (VoIP) applications such as WhatsApp for voice calls.

While VoIP initially had quality and jitter issues, the technology has improved tremendously in the past few years, meaning there is now very little to distinguish between Internet-based and conventional calling.

However, mobile data is in heavy demand, and usage must still be carefully managed to avoid network congestion.

On the flip side, there is additional capacity available for conventional voice traffic.

MVNO FNB Connect has technically offered an unlimited calling plan for the longest of any provider with its TalkMax product.

It was launched in 2019 to FNB transactional account holders at a starting price of R249.

However, this product lacked mobile data and had very specific requirements for incoming and outgoing traffic, as well as limits on unique numbers.

The pivotal moment in South Africa’s unlimited calling plans came when MTN launched its SuperFlex month-to-month products in September 2023.

These packages boast unlimited voice minutes and SMSs, priced from R299, with 10GB of 60-day data.

The company initially offered the product as part of a limited-time promotion but recently announced that SuperFlex was now a permanent tariff plan.

Not one to rest on its laurels, Vodacom launched its competing product — PowerFlex — in December 2023.

It offers two packages — one with 17GB anytime data and another with 22GB — priced at R449 and R579, respectively.

While the entry-level point is a bit steeper than on MTN, the 17GB product offers better value when measured on an effective price-per-GB against MTN’s 15GB product.

Two MVNOs roaming on MTN’s network — Melon Mobile and Spot Money — have also launched unlimited calling plans with a range of large allocation data bundles.

These have an even more affordable entry price point of R199 with a 5GB bundle.

The fine print simplified

It should be emphasised that all the plans are intended strictly for personal use, as making them available for business applications like contact centres could overwhelm networks and degrade the overall user experience.

While Vodacom and MTN use advanced algorithms and automatic monitoring to detect instances of abuse, the MVNOs have more rudimentary fair usage policy (FUP) mechanisms.

On all Melon Mobile plans, users must request additional minutes if they consume a certain amount in a month, starting with 750 minutes on its 5GB plan and going up to 2,500 minutes on its 50GB package.

Spot Mobile hard limits all its packages to 2,000 minutes.

This is still a very large allowance, considering users could make calls lasting more than one hour every day in a month and still not exceed the FUP limit.

The table below compares unlimited calling plans in South Africa, ranked according to their effective price per GB.

We have separated the main offerings of major mobile networks which come with no specified FUPs and MVNO products with prescribed limits or thresholds.

Another benefit of Vodacom and MTN’s plans is that their mobile data is valid for 60 days, while Melon Mobile and Spot Money’s data bundles expire after 30 days.

The table below compares unlimited calling plans with large data bundles available in South Africa in November 2024.