While pan-African telecommunications giants Vodacom Group and MTN Group are seeing strong growth in many of their African markets as macroeconomic conditions become more favourable, their performance in South Africa has been relatively poor.
By contrast, rival Telkom – despite being smaller by both revenue and customers compared to its two competitors – is shining locally. In a trading statement released on Monday, Telkom said it expects to more than double its headline earnings per share for the six months to 30 September, though there were a number of once-offs a year ago skewing that growth number higher.
Vodacom released its interim results for the same period earlier on Monday and, according to its CEO, Shameel Joosub, competitive pricing is one of the key differentiators in the South African mobile market, especially in the prepaid segment.
“What we are seeing is more competitive dynamics in the prepaid environment, and the consumer is under pressure. How we intend responding is with more competitive prepaid pricing and giving customers better value,” Joosub said in a call following the release of its results.
TechCentral reported earlier on Monday that Vodacom Group’s positive international performance for the period was dimmed by a sluggish picture in its home market, South Africa. Vodacom South Africa posted modest service revenue growth of 2.2% to R31.7-billion as pressure in the prepaid segment offset gains in contract and non-mobile services.
Prepaid revenue slid 1.6% to R13.2-billion, and Vodacom’s prepaid customer base shrank 7.4% to 39.2 million following a clean-up of inactive users.
‘More value’
In an interview with TechCentral later on Monday, Joosub said competitive pricing from MTN has added pressure, leading Vodacom to change its pricing, too, so that “customers are given more value”.
He said that mobile virtual network operators – a market that is booming with nearly 30 MVNOs now operational in South Africa – are also adding competitive pressure in the prepaid segment. Joosub made no mention of Telkom, but his peer at MTN, group CEO Ralph Mupita, has admitted losing market share to Telkom.
Read: MTN vows to claw back market share lost to Telkom
MTN’s interim results for the six months to 30 June 2025 painted a similarly unimpressive picture regarding South Africa. MTN South Africa’s performance was relatively flat, with service revenue up 2.3% year on year and data revenue growth of 4.3%. Voice revenue declined 2.2% and revenue from fintech – largely led by MTN Mobile Money – was not much higher at 2.4%. The enterprise division was a standout performer, with revenue growth of 11.6% – the only MTN South Africa division to report double-digit growth.
In September, Mupita attributed the sluggish performance in the company’s South Africa operations to a direct loss in market share to Telkom.
“Our insight into Cell C [tells us] they look for niche areas where they can be competitive – in youth offerings, for example. I think [Cell C CEO] Jorge [Mendes] and the team are building a pretty good business. They have decided they don’t want to be big but much more niche with a focus on profitability rather than scale,” Mupita said in an investor presentation following the release of the results.
“Have we lost market share to Cell C? Not in a way that is discernible. The [loss to] Telkom is discernible – we see that and it’s pretty clear.”
While Vodacom and MTN’s revenue growth rates are both in the low single digits, Telkom – per its Monday trading statement – is expected to report double-digit growth figures when its interim results are released on 18 November.
Responding to a query from TechCentral on Monday, a Telkom spokesman said the company’s success is underpinned by its data-led strategy, value-driven approach and increasingly personalised offerings.
“Telkom’s strong performance affirms that our data-led strategy is delivering results. By using deep customer insights to shape our products and experiences, we’ve been able to meet evolving needs with precision and agility,” the spokesman said.
“Our focus on simplifying connectivity, driving innovation and delivering consistent value across fibre and mobile continues to resonate with customers who are choosing Telkom for quality, inclusivity and a better overall experience,” he said. – © 2025 NewsCentral Media
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