The findings are based on 306,299 speed tests conducted by 6,999 mobile users across the country between 1 January and 31 March 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The testing included a combination of crowdsourced data and dedicated drive tests, providing a comprehensive assessment of mobile network performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As part of the drive testing, MyBroadband Insights travelled 13,000 km and tested networks in South Africa’s major cities, towns, and roads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Testing was performed using high-end smartphones with support for the latest technologies, as well as mid-range devices that reflect the experience of typical users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MTN dominated overall network performance and consistently outperformed its competitors across the most important metrics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It recorded the highest average download speed at 82.79 Mbps, followed by Cell C at 63.95 Mbps, Vodacom at 61.36 Mbps, Telkom at 46.60 Mbps, and Rain at 22.79 Mbps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MTN was also the top-performing network in major metros, including Tshwane, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Nelson Mandela Bay, Ekurhuleni, eThekwini, and Mangaung.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Its strong performance is attributed to continued investment in network infrastructure for both LTE and 5G networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the most significant development in this report was Cell C replacing Vodacom as South Africa’s second-best mobile network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cell C’s performance is driven by completing its customer migration to a virtual radio access network hosted by MTN and optimisation strategies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is the first time Vodacom has not been ranked as the country’s best or second-best network. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some consolation is that Vodacom delivered the best 5G performance in the country, driven by the ongoing expansion of its 5G network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Best mobile network in South Africa<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
To determine the best mobile network in South Africa, each network was given a “Network Quality Score” based on download speed, upload speed, and latency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Network Quality Score out of 10 then shows how a network performed in relation to other networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MTN reigned supreme with a Network Quality Score of 9.92, followed by Cell C at 8.07, Vodacom at 7.21, Telkom at 6.15, and Rain at 4.44.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The table below provides an overview of the mobile network rankings in South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Cell C has overtaken Vodacom in network quality, according to the Q1 2025 MyBroadband Insights mobile network quality report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":565669,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"idle","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"","_sma_facebook_post_id":"","_sma_instagram_post_id":"","_sma_threads_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-591598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cellular"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/591598"}],"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\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=591598"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/591598\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":591604,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/591598\/revisions\/591604"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/565669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=591598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=591598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=591598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Operator<\/th> Download Speed (Mbps)<\/th> Upload Speed (Mbps)<\/th> Latency (ms)<\/th> Network\u00a0Quality Score<\/th><\/tr><\/thead> MTN<\/td> 82.79<\/td> 29.00<\/td> 29<\/td> 9.92<\/td><\/tr> Cell C<\/td> 63.95<\/td> 26.67<\/td> 35<\/td> 8.07<\/td><\/tr> Vodacom<\/td> 61.36<\/td> 13.48<\/td> 30<\/td> 7.21<\/td><\/tr> Telkom<\/td> 46.60<\/td> 13.32<\/td> 30<\/td> 6.15<\/td><\/tr> Rain<\/td> 22.79<\/td> 11.38<\/td> 28<\/td> 4.44<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MyBroadband-Insights-Mobile-Network-Quality-Q1-2025.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n