Fastest uncapped Internet for South Africans without fibre

The fastest type of uncapped Internet product for South African homes without fibre is fixed-5G, which can boast speeds up to 500Mbps on several packages.

The first mobile network to introduce 5G services in South Africa was Rain, which launched its Premium 5G product for R999 per month in late 2019.

At the time, it was the only broadband offering with latency performance similar to fibre-to-the-home (FTTH).

The product could also support speeds well over 100Mbps, contending with mid-tier FTTH plans.

Three more mobile networks — Vodacom, MTN, and Telkom — have since launched 5G networks.

These operators have also rolled uncapped fixed-5G packages aimed at homes looking for a high-capacity mobile broadband connection.

Vodacom’s 5G coverage has reached 50% of the South African population, MTN’s stands at roughly 44%, and Rain’s is at 8 million households, which works out to about 43% of the population.

As of March 2025, the fastest fixed-5G packages are available from Internet service provider (ISP) Axxess, which runs on MTN and Vodacom’s networks.

All these products boast speeds of up to 500Mbps and are priced between R449 and R999 per month.

The price determines the package’s fair usage policy (FUP), which will dictate how much data you can consume at its highest speed every month.

For example, the most affordable Axxess 500Mbps option on MTN’s network throttles speeds down to 2Mbps after the first 300GB of consumption in the month.

FUPs allow for more usage before speed throttling as prices increase.

Those Internet users who would prefer not to be concerned with speed throttling can opt for one of Rain’s fixed-5G packages, which don’t have any FUPs.

While 5G coverage has expanded rapidly in recent years, LTE coverage is far more extensive.

For those without a 5G network or FTHH in their area, fixed-LTE can be another good alternative.

The fastest uncapped fixed-LTE packages in South Africa are offered through RSAWeb and also run on MTN’s network.

These included one product with up to 250Mbps speeds for the first 1TB consumption in a month, after which speeds are throttled to 2Mbps for the rest of the month.

Several ISPs also sell fixed-LTE with “unlimited” speeds, which means they can support the best possible LTE speed in a customer’s particular area.

Lastly, Wi-Fi-based fixed-wireless access could also be an option worth considering.

This technology uses unlicensed radiofrequency spectrum used for Wi-Fi signals, which may be prone to interference.

Unfortunately, it tends to be expensive at higher speeds and requires specialised equipment that is often only available on a long-term contract.

There is only one package with speeds of 50Mbps available on the Rush Network for under R2,000.

This option costs R1,925 per month with a R250 monthly rental on the customer premise equipment and installation cost of R2,500.

The only such product with prices and speeds competitive with fixed-LTE and fixed-5G was Supersonic’s AirFibre, with speeds going up to 200Mbps for R1,099 per month.

The table below provides a summary of the fastest non-fibre uncapped broadband products with speeds of 50Mbps or higher in South Africa in March 2025. Packages are ranked first by highest speed and then by best price.