Fastest 4G networks in Gauteng’s largest malls

MyBroadband tested Vodacom, MTN, Cell C, Telkom, and Rain’s 4G network performance in Gauteng’s biggest malls, and MTN and Cell C have a clear lead.

MTN and Cell C competed closely for the top spot in all the tested malls, except Mall of Africa, where Vodacom took the lead and Sandton City, where MTN and Vodacom tied.

MyBroadband visited all these malls on 19 and 20 February 2025 with a test bench filled with Samsung A34 5G smartphones.

These devices were locked to 4G technologies and below, which creates an accurate picture of the speeds the average consumer should be able to get.

Each phone in the test bench performed a speed test every minute using a custom version of the popular MyBroadband Speed Test App.

MyBroadband’s speed test servers are hosted in Teraco’s vendor-neutral data centres to ensure a neutral testing environment.

NAPAfrica provides all network operators at its peering points a free 10Gbps connection to the MyBroadband Speed Test platform.

This extensive testing enabled MyBroadband to get a clear view of the coverage and network performance inside the shopping malls.

While considering the results below, it is important to keep in mind that Cell C has network agreements with MTN and Vodacom.

Our tests were conducted as Cell C prepaid customers, which means we were using a virtual radio access network built and operated by MTN, explaining the similarities in results.

Cell C previously explained to MyBroadband that the deal means its customers can use all of its radio frequency spectrum and roam on MTN’s network when needed.

As part of the exchange, MTN gets access to a minority portion of Cell C’s spectrum to pool with its own.

Menlyn

Cell C recorded the fastest average 4G speed of 76Mbps inside Menlyn, followed closely by MTN at 72Mbps.

The other networks have a significant margin to catch up, with Vodacom placing in third at only 47Mbps.

Mall of Africa

Vodacom was the clear winner in Mall of Africa, with an average download speed of 52Mbps.

MTN and Cell C compete for second place with 37Mbps and 34Mbps, respectively, while Rain just missed out on third with 31Mbps.

However, Rain did not have the same level of coverage as the other networks inside Mall of Africa, with significantly fewer tests completing successfully.

Fourways Mall

MTN took an easy win in Fourways Mall with a speed of 79Mbps, while Cell C lagged behind a bit at 66Mbps.

Vodacom, Telkom, and Rain were unable to match these speeds, achieving less than half on average.

Centurion Mall

Cell C managed to narrowly beat MTN for the top spot in Centurion Mall at 103 Mbps compared to MTN’s 99Mbps. The other major networks all averaged less than 40Mbps.

Rosebank Mall

All the networks performed well inside Rosebank Mall, with MTN taking the top spot at 94Mbps.

Rain performed the worst but still averaged a respectable 36Mbps.

Sandton City

MTN and Vodacom tied for the top spot in Sandton City. MTN achieved a fractionally better average download speed and slightly better latency, while Vodacom had a slightly better average upload speed.

Cell C performed close to the top two, while Telkom and Rain offered very similar performances.