• South Africa has the fastest average mobile download speed in Africa by far according to new research.
• South Africa’s mobile download speed is 50 percent faster than second-place Zimbabwe, while Angola ranked the lowest.
• The research says that South Africans enjoy fast speeds thanks to investment into connectivity technology and support from regulators like ICASA.

Average mobile download speeds in South Africa are by far the fastest in all of Africa, according to a new study by independent mobile network analysts OpenSignal.

The study, published this week, shows that South Africans enjoy download speeds on smartphones about 50 percent faster than the closest competitor Zimbabwe and over four times faster than Angola, which has the slowest mobile download speeds on the continent.

“Our analysis shows that smartphone users see a diverse mobile experience across Africa. Starting with average download speeds, South Africa sets the bar among compared African markets at 34.5Mbps — 50% faster than second-placed Zimbabwe’s 22.9Mbps, followed by Morocco, Kenya, Tunisia and Madagascar — the only other markets to score above 20Mbps,” writes OpenSignal in its report, titled “The state of mobile network experience in Africa.”

OpenSignal analysed 27 of the most digitally-inclined African markets, comparing key measures like Download Speed Experience — “the overall average download speeds seen by our users” — and Consistent Quality.

Alongside faster download speed, South Africa also performs strongly in a metric OpenSignal terms “Consistent Quality” which indicates that the download speed do not fluctuate and remain at the same level throughout.

In this, South Africa also maintains the best score at 58.6 percent, which is closely followed by just one percent point by Tunisia. OpenSignal says that more than half of the African continent’s mobile internet is inconsistent, with most scoring below 30 percent.

“Suggesting that connectivity struggles to maintain the stable performance needed for even basic digital services in many African countries — especially in markets like Mali, Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon and Ethiopia where Consistent Quality is lower than 10%,” it explains.

Over 90 percent of households in South Africa have access to a smartphone according to the latest government census. It also found that South Africans are increasingly adopting mobile phones while leaving behind radios and landline phones.

Alongside smartphone uptake is the rise of internet use, with nearly 80 percent of households in the country having access to the internet, more than ever before.

These stats may increase even further if the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies does enact DA-inspired policies to make certain, more affordable smartphones tax-free, further adding to their accessibility.

According to OpenSignal, South Africa’s advantage over the rest of the continent comes by the way of “significant investment in infrastructure and effective regulatory support.”

“The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has implemented technology-neutral licensing, enabling operators to reallocate spectrum from older networks to more efficient 4G and 5G services,” the report reads.

“These investments and efforts from operators, supported by regulatory flexibility, have made South Africa a regional leader.” South Africa is also a leader in terms of 5Gm, ranking sixth in EMEA for 5G download speeds, with a score of 183.3Mbps.

[Image – Photo by Maxwell Ingham on Unsplash]