South Africa
Opensignal is the independent global standard for analyzing consumers' connectivity experiences. Our industry reports are the definitive guide to understanding what happens when people use their mobile and broadband connections in their daily life.
South Africa
Opensignal is the independent global standard for analyzing consumers' connectivity experiences. Our industry reports are the definitive guide to understanding what happens when people use their mobile and broadband connections in their daily life.
Key Findings
MTN has the fastest overall speed experience
Our South African users saw the fastest average overall download and upload speeds on MTN’s network. The operator wins Download Speed Experience outright, with a score of 27.7 Mbps — commanding a lead of 2.8 Mbps (11.3%) over second-placed Vodacom. MTN also triumphs in the other speed category, Upload Speed Experience, with a score of 7.1 Mbps — again, ahead of Vodacom.
Vodacom takes home all three overall experiential awards
Vodacom secures all three overall experiential awards outright — Video Experience, Games Experience and Voice App Experience, with scores of 51.1, 35.2 and 67.9 points on 100 point scales, respectively. However, it had to share the winners’ podium with MTN in all of the 5G experiential award categories.
Telkom wins the Availability award outright
Our users connected to 3G or better services for most of the time in South Africa on Telkom’s network — 97.9%. This was around 2.5 percentage points higher than on MTN and Vodacom’s network, which were in a statistical tie for second place.
Vodacom has the most consistent experience
Vodacom is victorious in both Consistency awards, as it scored 68.9% for Excellent Consistent Quality and 80.2% for Core Consistent Quality. Excellent Consistent Quality measures how operators’ networks meet the minimum recommended performance thresholds to watch HD video, complete group video conference calls and play games. Meanwhile Core Consistent Quality measures the percentage of users’ tests that met the thresholds for lower performance applications including SD video, voice calls and web browsing.
MTN triumphs in 5G Upload Speed and 5G Availability
As only two operators in South Africa have commercially launched 5G services — MTN and Vodacom — we saw a two-horse race for the 5G awards this time around. MTN triumphs in 5G Availability, with a score of 9.8% — 6.1 percentage points ahead of Vodacom. On top of this, MTN claims 5G Upload Speed, with a score of 22.9 Mbps — and a winning margin of 6.6 Mbps over its rival. We saw four statistical ties between MTN and Vodacom across the remaining 5G awards.
Mobile Experience Awards
Market Overview
In Opensignal's latest South Africa Mobile Network Experience report we analyze the 5G mobile experience of our users for the first time. Also, we add two awards that quantify the consistency of the experience on the country’s four national operators.
In the Overall Experience categories, Vodacom is the sole winner of all three experiential awards — Video Experience, Games Experience and Voice App Experience — and both Consistency awards. Meanwhile, our South African users saw the fastest average overall speeds on MTN’s networks, as the operator secures both Download Speed Experience and Upload Speed Experience. Telkom wins its only award for Availability, which measures the proportion of time our users were connected to 3G or better services.
As only two operators in South Africa have launched commercial 5G services — MTN and Vodacom — only they competed for 5G awards. MTN wins two outright — 5G Upload Speed and 5G Availability — and shares the remaining four 5G awards with Vodacom.
In March 2022, the South African regulator ICASA completed the much anticipated 5G spectrum auction. The auction generated ZAR 14.4bn (US$964 million), with MTN and Vodacom each spending over ZAR 5bn. MTN secured 100 MHz spectrum across the 800, 2600 and 3500 MHz bands, while Vodacom — 110 MHz, focusing on the 700, 2600 and 3500 MHz bands. Telkom successfully bid ZAR 2.1bn for 42 MHz in the 800 and 3500 MHz bands, while Rain spent ZAR 1.4 bn on 40 MHz of spectrum in the 700 and 2600 MHz bands. Cell C and Liquid were the remaining successful bidders, spending significantly less than their competitors — ZAN 288.2 million and ZAN 111 million respectively — for their portions of frequencies in the 3500 MHz band. ICASA has also invited participants for Wireless Open Access Network consultation — a project it still wants to pursue but temporarily suspended in November 2021, to complete the 5G auction.
With the new 5G spectrum assigned to South African operators and licenses transferred in May 2022, 5G roll-outs are likely to accelerate. MTN plans to cover 25% of South Africa’s population with 5G footprint by the end of 2022 and 60% by 2025, while it also intends to retire its 3G network in the next few years, to focus on 4G and 5G technologies. MTN plans for 3G sunsetting are aligned with other South African operators aiming to free up 2G and 3G spectrum for 4G and 5G deployments — and these plans are supported by the South African government, which intends to ban the importation and distribution of 2G-only devices by March 2023. Meanwhile, Cell C is aiming to deploy its 5G network soon, although no dates have been announced yet. The operator moved almost 50% of its network to the virtual Radio Access Network (vRAN), allowing it to conduct its operations as software on other network operators’ hardware.
In this report, we have analyzed the mobile network experience for South Africa’s four operators — Cell C, MTN, Telkom and Vodacom — over the 90 days starting May 1, 2022 and ending July 29, 2022, to see how they fared
Overall Experience
National Analysis
Vodacom is the sole winner of the Video Experience award, with a score of 51.1 points on a 100-point scale — 5.8 points ahead of second-placed MTN. Both operators placed in the Fair (40-55) category, meaning very slow loading times and prolonged stalling, but the experience on lower resolution videos from some providers might have been sufficient though. With statistically-tied scores in the 37.3-39.5 point range, the video streaming experience on Cell C and Telkom’s networks rated as Poor (under 40).
Our 5G users saw no statistically significant difference between their overall video experience on MTN and Vodacom’s networks when using their 5G devices. Both operators placed in the Good (55-65) category in the Video Experience — 5G Users metric. This means an acceptable but inconsistent experience, even from the same video streaming provider and particularly for higher resolutions,
Definitions
Opensignal’s Video Experience quantifies the quality of video streamed to mobile devices by measuring real-world video streams over an operator's networks. The metric is based on an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach, built upon detailed studies which have derived a relationship between technical parameters, including picture quality, video loading time and stall rate, with the perceived video experience as reported by real people. To calculate video experience, we are directly measuring video streams from end-user devices and using this ITU approach to quantify the overall video experience for each operator on a scale from 0 to 100. The videos tested include a mixture of resolutions — including Full HD (FHD) and 4K / Ultra HD (UHD) — and are streamed directly from the world’s largest video content providers.
In addition to Video Experience, we report on the following metrics related to video experience:
- 5G Video Experience: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users when they were connected to an operator’s 5G network.
- Video Experience – 5G Users: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator's networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G video experience along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Video Experience: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 4G network.
- 3G Video Experience: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users on an operator’s 3G network.
National Analysis
Vodacom takes the top spot in Games Experience, with a score of 35.2 points on a 100-point scale. MTN and Telkom were in a statistical tie for second place, around 1.5 points behind the winner. Only 2.7 points separated all four South African operators.
Looking at Games Experience — 5G Users, MTN and Vodacom were in a statistical tie, with scores in the 36.2-36.6 point range. Our 5G users saw small increases in their overall scores, compared to all users — three points for MTN and 1.1 points for Vodacom.
Definitions
Opensignal’s Games Experience measures how mobile users experience real-time multiplayer mobile gaming on an operator’s network. Measured on a scale of 0-100, it analyzes how our users’ multiplayer mobile gaming experience is affected by mobile network conditions including latency, packet loss and jitter.
Games Experience quantifies the experience when playing real-time multiplayer mobile games on mobile devices connected to servers located around the world. The approach is built on several years of research quantifying the relationship between technical network parameters and the gaming experience as reported by real mobile users. These parameters include latency (round trip time), jitter (variability of latency) and packet loss (the proportion of data packets that never reach their destination). Additionally, it considers multiple genres of multiplayer mobile games to measure the average sensitivity to network conditions. The games tested include some of the most popular real-time multiplayer mobile games (such as Fortnite, Pro Evolution Soccer and Arena of Valor) played around the world.
Calculating Games Experience starts with measuring the end-to-end experience from users’ devices to internet end-points that host real games. The score is then measured on a scale from 0 to 100.
In addition to Games Experience, we report on the following metrics related to games experience:
- 5G Games Experience: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users when they were connected to an operator’s 5G network.
- Games Experience – 5G Users: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator's networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G games experience along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Games Experience: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 4G network.
- 3G Games Experience: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO) network.
National Analysis
Vodacom triumphs in Voice App Experience, with a score of 67.9 points. The remaining South African operators were in a three-way statistical tie for second place, with the scores in the 65-66.7 point range.
However, our 5G users on MTN saw the best available overall experience when using over-the-top (OTT) voice services — such as WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger — on their 5G devices. MTN’s Voice App Experience — 5G Users score increased by 5.2 points compared to its Voice App Experience score — while Vodacom V saw a more modest increase of two points.
Definitions
Opensignal's Voice App Experience measures the quality of experience for over-the-top (OTT) voice services — mobile voice apps such as WhatsApp, Skype and Facebook Messenger — using a model derived from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach for quantifying overall voice call quality and a series of calibrated technical parameters. This model characterizes the exact relationship between the technical measurements and perceived call quality. Voice App Experience for each operator is calculated on a scale from 0 to 100.
In addition to Voice App Experience, we report on the following metrics related to voice app experience:
- 5G Voice App Experience: The average Voice App Experience of Opensignal users when they were connected to an operator’s 5G network.
- Voice App Experience – 5G Users: The average Voice App Experience of Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator's networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G voice app experience along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Voice App Experience: The average Voice App Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 4G network.
- 3G Voice App Experience: The average Voice App Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO) network.
National Analysis
MTN wins the Download Speed Experience award outright, with average overall download speeds clocking in at 27.7 Mbps. This means a winning margin of 2.8 Mbps over second-placed Vodacom. Our users on two remaining South African operators, Cell C and Telkom, experienced substantially slower average download speeds — 12.5 Mbps and 11.4 Mbps — a half or less than that seen by our Vodacom users (24.9 Mbps).
Looking at the overall experience of our 5G users, those on MTN’s networks saw the fastest overall download speeds of 58 Mbps, 30.3 Mbps faster than the average for all MTN users. Vodacom’s uplift was less than half — 14.6 Mbps.
Definitions
Measured in Mbps, Download Speed Experience represents the typical everyday speeds a user experiences across an operator’s mobile data networks.
In addition to Download Speed Experience, we report on the following metrics related to download speeds:
- 5G Download Speed: The average download speed observed by Opensignal users with active 5G connections.
- Download Speed Experience – 5G Users: The average download speeds experienced by Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator’s networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G download speeds along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Download Speed: The average downlink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 4G.
- 3G Download Speed: The average downlink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO).
National Analysis
MTN is the sole winner of Upload Speed Experience, with a score of 7.1 Mbps — 1.3 Mbps (22.4%) ahead of the runner-up Vodacom. Cell C and Telkom end in last place, with statistically tied scores around 3.8 Mbps.
Turning to Upload Speed Experience — 5G Users, MTN’s score for 5G users was 4.8 Mbps faster than that for all users and clocked in at 11.9 Mbps. Our 5G users on Vodacom’s network experienced average overall download speeds of 7.2 Mbps — 1.4 Mbps faster than the average for all Vodacom users.
Definitions
Upload Speed Experience measures the average upload speeds for each operator observed by our users across their mobile data networks. Typically upload speeds are slower than download speeds, as current mobile broadband technologies focus resources on providing the best possible download speed for users consuming content on their devices. As mobile internet trends move away from downloading content to creating content and supporting real-time communications services, upload speeds are becoming more vital and new technologies are emerging that boost upstream capacity.
In addition to Upload Speed Experience, we report on five supporting metrics related to upload speeds:
- 5G Upload Speed: The average upload speed observed by Opensignal users with active 5G connections.
- Upload Speed Experience – 5G Users: The average upload speeds experienced by Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator’s networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G upload speeds along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Upload Speed: The average uplink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 4G.
- 3G Upload Speed: The average uplink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO).
5G Experience
National Analysis
MTN and Vodacom jointly win the 5G Video Experience award, with statistically tied scores in the 73.7-75.5 point range. Both operators saw significant increases in their 5G Video Experience scores compared to Video Experience — MTN’s rose by 30.2 points, while Vodacom — by 22.6 points. This shows how substantially 5G services can improve the users’ mobile network experience.
Definitions
5G Video Experience quantifies the quality of mobile video experienced by Opensignal users on real-world video streams when they were connected to 5G. The metric is based on an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach, built upon detailed studies which have derived a relationship between technical parameters, including picture quality, video loading time and stall rate, with the perceived video experience as reported by real people. To calculate 5G Video Experience, we are directly measuring video streams from end-user devices and using this ITU approach to quantify the video experience observed by our users on each operator’s 5G network on a scale from 0 to 100. The videos tested include a mixture of resolutions — including Full HD (FHD) and 4K / Ultra HD (UHD) — and are streamed directly from the world’s largest video content providers.
National Analysis
MTN and Vodacom share the winners’ podium for the 5G Games Experience award, with statistically tied scores of 39.5 and 40.1 points on a 100 point scale, respectively. Compared to the overall Games Experience, MTN’s score was 5.8 points higher, while Vodacom’s score increased by 4.9 points.
Definitions
5G Games Experience measures how mobile users experience real-time multiplayer mobile gaming on an operator's 5G network. It analyzes how our users’ multiplayer mobile gaming experience was affected by mobile network conditions including latency, packet loss and jitter. 5G Games Experience for each operator is calculated on a scale from 0 to 100.
5G Games Experience quantifies the experience when playing real-time multiplayer mobile games on mobile devices connected to servers located around the world. The approach is built on several years of research quantifying the relationship between technical network parameters and the gaming experience as reported by real mobile users. These parameters include latency (round trip time), jitter (variability of latency) and packet loss (the proportion of data packets that never reach their destination). Additionally, it considers multiple genres of multiplayer mobile games to measure the average sensitivity to network conditions. The games tested include some of the most popular real-time multiplayer mobile games (such as Fortnite, Pro Evolution Soccer and Arena of Valor) played around the world. Calculating 5G Games Experience starts with measuring the end-to-end experience from users’ devices to internet end-points that host real games.
National Analysis
Our users saw no statistically significant difference between MTN and Vodacom’s networks when it comes to 5G Voice App Experience. Both operators win this award, placing in the Acceptable (74-80) category — some users were satisfied, but some experienced perceptible call quality impairments. Compared to Voice App Experience, MTN saw an increase in its score of 8.1 points, while Vodacom — 6.5 points.
Definitions
5G Voice App Experience quantifies the experience of Opensignal users when using over-the-top voice apps — such as WhatsApp, Skype and Facebook Messenger — on an operator’s 5G network. It uses a model derived from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach for quantifying overall voice call quality and a series of calibrated technical parameters. This model characterizes the exact relationship between the technical measurements and perceived call quality. 5G Voice App Experience for each operator is calculated on a scale from 0 to 100.
National Analysis
MTN and Vodacom jointly win 5G Download Speed, with scores of around 150 Mbps on average. Vodacom users saw a 5G to overall uplift in average download speeds of nearly six times, while MTN’s 5G Download Speed score was 5.6 times higher than its Download Speed Experience score.
Definitions
5G Download Speed shows the average download speed experienced by Opensignal users across an operator’s 5G network. 5G Download Speed for each operator is calculated in Mbps (Megabits per second).
National Analysis
MTN triumphs in 5G Upload Speed, with a score of 22.9 Mbps, commanding an impressive winning margin of 6.6 Mbps over Vodacom. Both operators saw sizable 5G Upload Speed to Upload Speed Experience uplifts, of 3.2 and 2.8 times, respectively.
Definitions
5G Upload Speed measures the average upload speeds experienced by Opensignal users across an operator’s 5G network. 5G Upload Speed for each operator is calculated in Mbps (Megabits per second).
Coverage
Cell C
MTN
Telkom
Vodacom
National Analysis
Telkom wins the Availability award — the only category it wins in this report — as our users on this network connected to 3G or better services for 97.9% of the time — the highest result in South Africa. MTN and Vodacom were in a statistical tie for second place, with scores in the 95-95.8% range, while Cell C brings up the rear with 93.1%.
Definitions
Our availability metrics are not a measure of a network’s geographical extent. They won’t tell you whether you are likely to get a signal if you plan to visit a remote rural or nearly uninhabited region. Instead, they measure what proportion of time people have a network connection, in the places they most commonly frequent — something often missed by traditional coverage metrics. Looking at when users have a connection rather than where, provides us with a more precise reflection of the true user experience.
We also keep track of the instances that leave mobile users most frustrated: when there is no signal to connect to at all. The most common dead zones users struggle with occur indoors. As most of our availability data is collected indoors (as that’s where users spend most of their time), we’re particularly astute at detecting areas of zero signal.
Our availability metrics take a user-centric, time-based approach that complements the user-centric and geographical-based methodology used by our reach metrics.
Availability shows the proportion of time all Opensignal users on an operator’s network had either a 3G, 4G or 5G connection.
Map Definition
The coverage maps show the locations where we received measurements from users connecting with 3G or better mobile service. Each map provides an indication of the areas in which it is possible to obtain mobile service from that mobile operator.
National Analysis
MTN claims 5G Availability, with a score of 9.8% — 6.1 percentage points ahead of Vodacom. MTN’s score means our 5G users on this network had an active 5G connection for 9.8% of the time.
Definitions
Our availability metrics are not a measure of a network’s geographical extent. They won’t tell you whether you are likely to get a signal if you plan to visit a remote rural or nearly uninhabited region. Instead, they measure what proportion of time people have a network connection, in the places they most commonly frequent — something often missed by traditional coverage metrics. Looking at when users have a connection rather than where, provides us with a more precise reflection of the true user experience.
We also keep track of the instances that leave mobile users most frustrated: when there is no signal to connect to at all. The most common dead zones users struggle with occur indoors. As most of our availability data is collected indoors (as that’s where users spend most of their time), we’re particularly astute at detecting areas of zero signal.
Our availability metrics take a user-centric, time-based approach that complements the user-centric and geographical-based methodology used by our reach metrics.
5G Availability shows the proportion of time Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription had an active 5G connection.
Map Definition
The coverage maps show the locations where we received measurements from users connecting with 3G or better mobile service. Each map provides an indication of the areas in which it is possible to obtain mobile service from that mobile operator.
Consistency
National Analysis
Vodacom wins Excellent Consistent Quality outright, with a score of 68.9%. This means it met the minimum recommended performance thresholds for HD video, group video conference calls and gaming in 68.9% of users’ tests. MTN comes second, 8.9 percentage points behind the winner. Telkom’s score was only 0.9 percentage points lower than MTN’s — however, Cell C’s result, 44.6%, was farther behind.
Definitions
Consistent Quality measures how often users’ experience on a network was sufficient to support common applications’ requirements. It measures download speed, upload speed, latency, jitter, packet loss, time to first byte and the percentage of tests attempted which did not succeed due to a connectivity issue on either the download or server response component.
Full details on how the Consistent Quality metrics — Excellent Consistent Quality and Core Consistent Quality — are calculated can be found here.
Excellent Consistent Quality is the percentage of users’ tests that met the minimum recommended performance thresholds to watch HD video, complete group video conference calls and play games.
National Analysis
Vodacom met the minimum recommended performance thresholds for lower performance applications including SD video, voice calls and web browsing in 80.2% of users’ tests. It wins the Core Consistent Quality award with a winning margin of 4.3 points over second-placed Telkom. MTN scored 72.4% and Cell C trailed behind, with a score of 60.1%.
Definitions
Consistent Quality measures how often users’ experience on a network was sufficient to support common applications’ requirements. It measures download speed, upload speed, latency, jitter, packet loss, time to first byte and the percentage of tests attempted which did not succeed due to a connectivity issue on either the download or server response component.
Full details on how the Consistent Quality metrics — Excellent Consistent Quality and Core Consistent Quality — are calculated can be found here.
Core Consistent Quality is the percentage of users’ tests that met the minimum recommended performance thresholds for lower performance applications including SD video, voice calls and web browsing.
Related Analysis
Our Methodology
Collecting billions of individual measurements daily from over 100 million devices globally, Opensignal independently analyzes mobile and broadband user experience on every major network operator around the globe.
About Opensignal
Opensignal is the leading global provider of independent insights into consumers' connectivity experiences and choice of carrier. Our proprietary insights into mobile and broadband networks give operators the solutions they need to profitably compete and win, from executive level scorecards and public validation to pin-point level engineering analytics and consumer decision dynamics.
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Confidence Intervals
For every metric we calculate statistical confidence intervals indicated on our graphs. When confidence intervals overlap, our measured results are too close to declare a winner. In those cases, we show a statistical draw. For this reason, some metrics have multiple operator winners.
In our bar graphs we represent confidence intervals as boundaries on either sides of graph bars.
In our supporting-metric charts we show confidence intervals as +/- numerical values.
Why confidence intervals are vital in analyzing mobile network experience