MTN has retained its position as South Africa's best overall mobile network for a third consecutive evaluation cycle, according to Opensignal's November 2026 Mobile Experience Report, which measures real customer performance across download speed, coverage experience, and video streaming quality.

Vodacom mounted a meaningful counter, however, posting the highest 5G availability score in the measurement period — reflecting the scale of its 5G rollout in Johannesburg, Pretoria and Cape Town.

How the Benchmark Works

Opensignal pools billions of measurements from actual devices, weighting real conditions rather than theoretical peak speeds. MTN took ten of sixteen award categories; Vodacom six. Cell C and Telkom continue to compete on price rather than the top end of experience tables.

The Consumer Angle

For subscribers the verdict is unchanged: MTN offers the most reliable day-to-day experience across the widest area, but those who prioritise 5G specifically may find Vodacom's metropolitan footprint stronger. With price differences between the two narrowing, quality of network experience is increasingly the decisive factor in contract decisions — and fibre at home softens the blow of either choice.

The broader reading of the data is that South African mobile connectivity continues to improve against international benchmarks, though the rural-urban experience gap remains the country's defining connectivity divide.