Vodacom's network is the market leader – latest Speedtest data from Ookla

JOHANESSBURG – Vodacom has entrenched its network leadership position in South Africa yet again. According to Q3 performance data from Speedtest® by Ookla®, Vodacom has the “Best Network” and “Best 4G Network” among all major mobile network providers across the country.

From a regional point of view, Vodacom won all regional “Best Network” claims with the exception of KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape provinces where results indicate a leadership tie. The network provider also won all regional “Best 4G Network” claims with the exception of the Western Cape Province where results indicate a leadership tie.

Andries Delport, Chief Technology Officer for Vodacom Group commented:

“This achievement proves beyond any doubt that Vodacom is the clear leader when it comes to the quality and size of its mobile networks across South Africa. We have always maintained that the basis of our competitive advantage lies in the superiority of our network and we will continue to invest in the network, ensuring that we continue to deliver on our ‘Best network’ promise. The short answer behind the latest achievement is that we have consistently spent more than our competitors on infrastructure so that we maintain what we believe is our competitive advantage and that is our network superiority. Including the current period, capital expenditure across the Group will total at R40.6billion over a three year period, with R27.4billion in South Africa alone.”

“We do this so that our customers enjoy the widest 2G, 3G and 4G coverage as well as vastly increased data speeds to enhance the overall customer experience. Through our infrastructure investment, we have retained our top position in South Africa in network coverage, call quality rates and speed, securing a 16 point lead for overall network NPS.”

These results, which were done by the subscribers of the four mobile operators on 2G, 3G and 4G during the full quarter of 1 July – 30 September 2017, logging over 300 000 tests on the Speed test mobile app, show that Vodacom has SA’s Best Network and SA’s Best 4G Network. In South Africa Vodacom’s 2G network now covers 99.9% of the country’s population, 3G is at around 99.2% and 4G is 76% and well ahead of any of our competitors.

About Ookla:

Ookla is the global leader in internet performance testing and consumer-initiated network diagnostics. With 9 million tests taken every day and over 15 billion tests logged to date using Speedtest, Ookla provides the most expansive view of worldwide internet network performance and accessibility. Ookla’s comprehensive data platform, Speedtest Intelligence, is a trusted and vital research and analysis tool used by businesses, industry associations, and government agencies. Ookla is headquartered in Seattle, WA, USA with additional offices in Dublin, Ireland.

In South Africa a large number of Ookla test servers are hosted by various industry players including all major mobile operators (Vodacom, MTN, Telkom and Cell C) and the results are used by for various network management and marketing functions. Ookla is thus well- accepted by these operators as an authoritative source of network performance data.