128 Mbps in the middle of nowhere

MyBroadband recently tested Vodacom’s mobile network performance in rural KwaZulu-Natal, which showed exceptional results.

MyBroadband travelled to the Drakensberg region and visited numerous areas, including Bergville, Winterton, and the Royal Natal National Park.

During this trip, we conducted numerous tests using the MyBroadband speed test app on a high-end Android smartphone.

The first thing that stood out was latency between 25ms and 38ms. Considering the remote locations of the tests, this network performance was excellent.

The network download speed peaked at 128Mbps, with a large percentage of speed test results above 100Mbps.

Upload speeds ranged between 3Mbps and 25Mbps, which could be expected as the network design is focused on providing high download speeds.

What was particularly impressive is that the average download speed across 27 tests at prominent locations was 81Mbps.

The average upload speed at these locations was 14Mbps and the average latency was 29ms, showing the strength of Vodacom’s network.

To put this network performance in rural KwaZulu-Natal in perspective, it was similar to what users experience in London.

Recent MyBroadband speed tests in London showed an average download speed of 83Mbps, an upload speed of 16Mbps, and latency of 25ms.

This means that Vodacom’s network performance in a remote and rural part of South Africa, far away from any speed test servers, matches that of top networks in London.

Vodacom’s excellent network performance is not a coincidence. It invested billions to ensure a world-class mobile network performance.

In September 2023, Vodacom revealed that it was investing R1 billion in its KwaZulu-Natal network in that financial year.

This investment aimed to increase network capacity and resilience and accelerate access to connectivity throughout the province, particularly in deep rural areas.

R700 million went towards network capacity and upgrades, with R173 million allocated to improving core network infrastructure.

Vodacom modernised 429 base station sites and expanded LTE capacity to 774 sites in the 2024 financial year.

In August 2024, Vodacom announced a further R800 million network investment in KwaZulu-Natal. It used the money to build new network sites and modernise its mobile network.

It explained that the KwaZulu-Natal region deployed new sites in deep rural areas of the province that never had connectivity before.

“We are making a significant investment in the network in KwaZulu-Natal,” Imran Khan, managing executive and Vodacom’s KwaZulu-Natal region, said.

He said their goal is to give Vodacom customers an excellent network experience by increasing the availability of high-quality connectivity.

The network improvement included rolling out 130 new sites in deep rural areas in the KwaZulu-Natal province.

Most of the funds were used to improve the radio access network, modernise the core network infrastructure, and deploy LTE and 5G.

This investment provided faster network speeds and more connectivity for Vodacom customers across the province.

Vodacom KwaZulu-Natal’s 3G population coverage increased to 98.89%, 4G to 98.86%, and 5G to 50% through the latest network improvement.

The results of this network investment in KwaZulu-Natal could be seen in the recent speed test results at prominent rural locations, listed in the table below.

Images of the testing area