Best virtual networks in South Africa

A MyBroadband analysis shows that Melon Mobile and Afrihost Air Mobile boast the fastest speeds of South Africa’s most widely used mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs).
MVNOs have been available in South Africa for well over a decade. However, MTN’s MVNO platform launch in October 2020 caused an explosion of new players in recent years.
MVNOs don’t use their own infrastructure but enter into negotiated roaming agreements with mobile networks, giving them capacity on their networks.
These deals are typically structured so MVNOs can offer attractive prices on cellular products like mobile data bundles.
Some MVNOs are also part of larger businesses with other revenue sources and products that can be useful value-adds for their customers.
Mobile networks benefit from the agreements through wholesale revenue that they would not have collected due to MVNO customers’ perceptions of their brands, their higher pricing, or other factors.
Mobile operators can also prevent strain on their networks by configuring how much capacity an MVNO’s customers can access.
Therefore, MVNO sceptics may be quick to point out that the operators’ low prices can come with the caveat of slower connectivity and less coverage.
MyBroadband analysed thousands of results from the MyBroadband Speed Test app in the fourth quarter of 2024 to see which MVNOs offered the best performance and were the most widely used.
We found that three major MVNOs boasted double-digit speeds in both downloads and uploads.
A relatively new player on the market — Melon Mobile — came out on top in download and upload speeds across all provinces, which averaged at 71.33Mbps and 15.43Mbps, respectively.
One of the country’s oldest MVNOs — Afrihost Air Mobile — placed second with downloads and uploads of 60.79Mbps
It did have a slight edge in latency, however, with average at 43.71ms compared with Melon Mobile’s 54.92ms.
Both Afrihost Air Mobile and Melon Mobile use MTN as a roaming partner.
Capitec Connect, which the bank claims to be the biggest MVNO in the country with about 1.3 million active users, ranked in a distant third with download speeds of 38.36Mbps.
It was the fastest of the MVNOs that use Cell C’s network. While this is managed by MTN, it relies on Cell C’s spectrum.
The table below compares the average speeds, latency, and other factors of the most popular MVNOs used by MyBroadband Speed Test users in Q4 2024.
MVNO | Download speed | Upload speed | Latency (lower is better) | Roaming partner | Unique device count |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Melon Mobile | 71.33Mbps | 15.43Mbps | 54.92ms | MTN | 102 (3rd) |
Afrihost Air Mobile | 60.79Mbps | 12.36Mbps | 43.71ms | MTN | 164 (2nd) |
Capitec Connect | 38.36Mbps | 13.63Mbps | 39.34ms | Cell C | 118 (4th) |
Standard Bank Connect | 30.79Mbps | 8.70Mbps | 36.02ms | Transitioning to MTN from Cell C | 28 (6th) |
FNB Connect | 22.21Mbps | 9.66Mbps | 36.10ms | Cell C and MTN | 204 (1st) |
MegaTel | 15.14Mbps | 98.43Mbps | 30.38ms | Telkom | 33 (5th) |
The impact of user numbers
MyBroadband also looked at the number of unique devices that tested each network’s performance to get an idea of the most widely-used MVNO.
Melon Mobile only ranked fourth in unique devices, while Afrihost Air Mobile was second, bested only by FNB Connect.
Based on feedback from MyBroadband forum members and readers, Afrihost Air Mobile’s popularity has jumped since it relaunched with a new app and highly competitive data bundles in February 2025.
It also introduced eSIM sign-ups, making it easier for those with compatible devices to quickly become customers.
These improvements may have factored into half of participants in a recent MyBroadband poll voting that they would prefer Afrihost Air Mobile if they had to switch to an MVNO.
The table below ranks the MVNOs in our comparison according to their unique device counts, compared with their performance in a recent poll of preferred MVNOs.
MVNO | Unique devices used in tests | Preferred MVNO choice in January 2025 poll |
---|---|---|
FNB Connect | 204 | 22% |
Afrihost Air Mobile | 164 | 52% |
Capitec Connect | 118 | 6% |
Melon Mobile | 102 | 11% |
MegaTel | 33 | 0% |
Standard Bank Connect | 22 | 4% |