Almost all of South Africa’s urban residents are currently covered by 3G and 4G, according to data from Icasa’s March 2025 State of the ICT Sector in South Africa report.

5G coverage is highest in the Western Cape (78%) and Gauteng (76%), and significantly lower in the Northern Cape (38%) and Free State (26%).

3G networks are being phased out in South Africa, and all 2G and 3G networks should be shut down by December 2027. Networks have been prohibited from introducing new 3G devices since December 2024.

4G offer download speeds of around 100Mbps (depending on conditions) while 5G networks are capable of speeds around 10 times that.