Big surprise for Vodacom

MyBroadband Insights has released its Q1 2025 Mobile Network Quality Report, which shows that Cell C has overtaken Vodacom to become the second-best network in South Africa.

MTN still has the best mobile network in South Africa, while Vodacom is the only operator whose overall network quality score has decreased since last quarter.

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.

The testing included a combination of crowdsourced data and dedicated drive tests, providing a comprehensive assessment of mobile network performance.

As part of the drive testing, MyBroadband Insights travelled 13,000 km and tested networks in South Africa’s major cities, towns, and roads.

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.

MTN dominated overall network performance and consistently outperformed its competitors across the most important metrics.

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.

MTN was also the top-performing network in major metros, including Tshwane, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Nelson Mandela Bay, Ekurhuleni, eThekwini, and Mangaung.

Its strong performance is attributed to continued investment in network infrastructure for both LTE and 5G networks.

However, the most significant development in this report was Cell C replacing Vodacom as South Africa’s second-best mobile network.

Cell C’s performance is driven by completing its customer migration to a virtual radio access network hosted by MTN and optimisation strategies.

This is the first time Vodacom has not been ranked as the country’s best or second-best network. 

Some consolation is that Vodacom delivered the best 5G performance in the country, driven by the ongoing expansion of its 5G network.

Best mobile network in South Africa

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.

The Network Quality Score out of 10 then shows how a network performed in relation to other networks.

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.

The table below provides an overview of the mobile network rankings in South Africa.