The breadth and reliability of 4G coverage in South Africa has given local operators a leg-up when compared to their international counterparts in terms of network quality.

This is according to OpenSignal’s new Global Network Excellence Index report, which looked at data from 1 January to 31 March 2025. OpenSignal said the report is meant to help regulators and mobile operators benchmark the quality of their network infrastructure against their peers.

“Based on latest data, South Africa rose four places to 60th place globally and rose two places to 23rd position among large land area markets, defined as those with a land area larger than 200 000sq km,” OpenSignal said in a statement on Tuesday.

“South Africa’s rise was due to a mainly on a +2 in 4G/5G availability, +5 in excellent consistent quality and a dramatic +29 in 4G download speed (+11Mbit/s).”

A hundred and thirty-four countries were compared. South Africa’s improved performance in 4G connectivity was offset by a poorer showing in OpenSignal’s 5G rankings, where it fell 10 places to 42^nd out of the 64 countries included in this part of the report.

But the decline in 5G performance is not limited to South Africa or even other developing countries. Network operators in developed markets also experienced declines in 5G performance, which OpenSignal has attributed to the way networks are being optimised, with broader 5G coverage taking preference over throughput.

4G rankings

“Denmark is currently migrating the 1.8GHz band from 4G to 5G. While this shift improves 5G availability – thanks to the band’s strong propagation characteristics – it also brings more users onto the 5G network, increasing load. However, since 1.8GHz offers lower peak performance than higher frequency bands, its use is contributing to a dip in average 5G download speeds, even as 4G speeds benefit from reduced congestion.”

Norway is experiencing something similar because of its increased use of the 700MHz band for 5G coverage, according to the report.

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South Africa’s improved 4G download speeds led to a rise of 15 places among countries with a large land area. Separating expansive geographies from smaller ones helps create a like-for-like comparison given that network operators that must traverse larger geographies are subjected to higher infrastructure costs. Newer technologies like 5G also typically travel shorter distances than their previous-generation counterparts, making them less practical across larger territories.

Despite 4G coverage in South Africa being north of 90%, device penetration remains a problem, with a significant portion of the population still reliant on cheaper 2G or 3G feature phones to meet their connectivity needs. The South African government plans to have mobile operators shut down their 2G and 3G networks by 31 December 2027.

In March, national treasury removed ad valorem, or luxury, taxes on smartphones under R2 500 following lobbying by communications minster Solly Malatsi aimed at making smartphones more affordable. The move was lauded by telecommunications operators, including Vodacom, which said it was a “significant step towards sunsetting legacy technologies”. – © 2025 NewsCentral Media