Best Data Deals In South Africa Revealed
Over the years network providers have made millions on the fact that citizens can’t use their cell phones if they do not have data or airtime. They then capitalized on this by increasing the costs incurred by consumers buying data and airtime.
Did #DataMustFall Help At All?
Many voices have been lifted in the #DataMustFall campaign’s in 2017 and it seems Vodacom has come down with their prices a bit. Sadly 15% is not nearly enough. MTN also seemed to have made an effort but was rejected as their data prices were marked down for night time rates and not daytime. Not very helpful at all. So here we stand still fighting for a financial break in our Data Crisis in South Africa.
We look at where each provider stands on data costs. We all know we are forced to pay these rates because let’s face it…what would we do without our cellphones to connect to the rest of the world.
How many cell phone users feel empty and disconnected from the world when they can’t use their phones to communicate and access the internet? In a digital world, one can’t be without it.
Let’s Break It Down For You
So let’s see which companies are making an effort and which are not really bothered because hey, let’s face it they know we need to check out Facebook every half an hour.
Data Bundle Costs (on prepaid cell phones) |
||||
| Vodacom (R) | Cell C (R) | MTN (R) | Telkom (R) | |
| 100MB | 29.00 | 29.00 | 35.00 | 29.00 |
| 200MB | – | 49.00 | – | – |
| 250MB | 59.00 | – | – | 39.00 |
| 300MB | – | – | 85.00 | – |
| 500MB | 99.00 | 99.00 | 105.00 | 69.00 |
| 1G | 149.00 | 149.00 | 160.00 | 99.00 |
| 2G | 249.00 | 249.00 | 260.00 | 139.00 |
| 3G | – | 299.00 | 330.00 | – |
| 5G | 399.00 | 399.00 | 430.00 | – |
| 10G | 599.00 | 599.00 | 650.00 | – |
| 20G | 999.00 | 999.00 | 1250.00 | – |
Cell C also has extra larger options for those who need that bit on top:
| 30 GB | 80 GB | 100 GB |
| R599.00 | R899.00 | R1599 |
If you are using the hated “Out of bundle rates” here is what you are paying (per MB)
- Vodacom: R1.50 per megabyte
- Cell C: R1.10 per megabyte
- MTN: R0.99 per megabyte
- Telkom: R0.29 per megabyte
Cheap data, GREAT! But have we considered the T’s & C’s
Another issue many have battled with is the lifespan of data, yes Cell C has great data options and offer freebies with recharges but they are clever and add-on expiry times to the extras. So it’s all well and good that they offer these, but don’t take into consideration that in some cases it is nearly impossible to use the data to the point of completion before it expires.
Another provider that has this issue is MTN. They also add the expiry dates to their data and the only way to prevent that from happening is contacting them – and we all know how frustrating it is trying to sort anything out when you are forced to use call centres with network providers!
