{"id":570249,"date":"2024-11-18T17:01:46","date_gmt":"2024-11-18T15:01:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=570249"},"modified":"2024-11-19T12:54:25","modified_gmt":"2024-11-19T10:54:25","slug":"10gb-mobile-data-showdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/cellular\/570249-10gb-mobile-data-showdown.html","title":{"rendered":"10GB mobile data showdown"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hello Mobile and Afrihost’s AirMobile offer the most affordable 10-gigabyte data bundles in the South African market. However, FNB Connect’s 12GB bundle provides the best value for money in the 10GB to 15GB bundle range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MyBroadband compared 10GB data bundles offered by South Africa’s mobile networks and mobile virtual network operators (MVNO) to determine the most affordable package.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As with most products, the more purchased, the more affordable it becomes per unit \u2014 or gigabyte in this case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, the most affordable 5GB data bundles start at R18 per gig, whereas 10GB bundles start at just over R13 per gig.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This can be an essential consideration for those who don’t have access to a fixed Internet connection at home \u2014 roughly 85% of the South African population<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There have been recent developments in fibre product offerings aimed at lower-income segments<\/a>. However, it will take time for these to reach all corners of the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, just under 79% of the population have the means to access the Internet using any medium, according to StatsSA’s 2023 household survey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is despite Vodacom and MTN achieving 99% LTE\/4G coverage<\/a> of South Africa’s population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, this requires mobile data, which can be expensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, for households that rely on cellular data connectivity, it may be worth buying bigger bundles to get more value for money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People travelling and not always near a Wi-Fi hotspot may also consume large amounts of mobile data, thus needing larger data bundles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately for South Africans, the mobile market is fiercely competitive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) recently reported observing continued competitiveness<\/a> between network operators in the first six months of 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Icasa said operators were also incentivizing and rewarding loyal customers while attracting new customers by providing more affordable access to communication services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Operators have also enabled MVNOs to enter the field and increase competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A recent BMIT report said that MVNOs are seeing renewed interest in South Africa and are emerging as the primary driving factor<\/a> of the country’s mobile market growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report shows MVNO subscribers have almost doubled from just over 2.5 million to under 5 million since 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The competitiveness that the MVNOs bring to the market is evident in the comparison, as virtual networks offer the three most affordable bundles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is important to note that some operators don’t offer 10GB bundles, so the closest package to 10GB was chosen to represent as many operators as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FNB Connect, an MVNO roaming on Cell C and MTN’s networks, offers a 15GB bundle for R199, or R13.27 per gigabyte.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hello Mobile comes in at number two with a 10GB bundle for R149. While the bundle is cheaper than on FNB Connect, the price per gigabyte is higher at R14.90.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For R1 more, Afrihost Airmobile, roaming on MTN’s network, also has a 10GB bundle, costing R15 per gig.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first mobile network on the list, Cell C, appears in fourth place, offering a 10GB bundle for R159, or R15.90 per gig.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Telkom, Vodacom, and Standard Bank Connect are at the other end of the spectrum, offering data bundles that cost between R33 and R40 per gig.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Standard Bank Connect roams on MTN’s network and offers a 10GB top-up bundle for R399, the most expensive package per gigabyte at R39.90.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vodacom’s 12GB for R469 was the second most expensive bundle per gig at R39.08.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The table below shows each bundle’s size, payment type, price, and price per gig.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Operator<\/th>Size<\/th>Network<\/th>Price<\/th>Price per GB<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
FNB Connect<\/td>15 GB<\/td>Cell C and MTN<\/td>R199<\/td>R13.27<\/td><\/tr>
Hello Mobile<\/td>10 GB<\/td>Cell C<\/td>R149<\/td>R14.90<\/td><\/tr>
Afrihost Airmobile<\/td>10 GB<\/td>MTN<\/td>R150<\/td>R15.00<\/td><\/tr>
Cell C<\/td>10 GB<\/td>Cell C<\/td>R159<\/td>R15.90<\/td><\/tr>
Axxess Mobile<\/td>15 GB<\/td>MTN<\/td>R249<\/td>R16.60<\/td><\/tr>
MTN<\/td>2 x 6 GB<\/td>MTN<\/td>R218<\/td>R18.17<\/td><\/tr>
Spot Mobile<\/td>10 GB<\/td>MTN<\/td>R199<\/td>R19.90<\/td><\/tr>
Capitec Connect<\/td>10 GB<\/td>Cell C<\/td>R199<\/td>R19.90<\/td><\/tr>
MegsApp<\/td>11 GB<\/td>MTN<\/td>R219<\/td>R19.90<\/td><\/tr>
Shoprite K’nect<\/td>10 GB<\/td>Cell C<\/td>R250<\/td>R25.00<\/td><\/tr>
Telkom<\/td>15 GB<\/td>Telkom<\/td>R499<\/td>R33.27<\/td><\/tr>
Vodacom<\/td>12 GB<\/td>Vodacom<\/td>R469<\/td>R39.08<\/td><\/tr>
Standard Bank Connect<\/td>10 GB<\/td>MTN<\/td>R399<\/td>R39.90<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The most affordable bundles start at just under R15 per gig, according to a MyBroadband comparison.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":341175,"featured_media":564989,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[97776,26512,81699,355,5922,83485,97775,42,81556,97070,95389,109,41],"class_list":["post-570249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cellular","tag-afrihost-airmobile","tag-axxess-mobile","tag-capitec-connect","tag-cell-c","tag-fnb-connect","tag-hello-mobile","tag-megsapp","tag-mtn","tag-shoprite-knect","tag-spot-mobile","tag-standard-bank-connect","tag-telkom","tag-vodacom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570249"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/341175"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=570249"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570249\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":570926,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570249\/revisions\/570926"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/564989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=570249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=570249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=570249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}