South Africa’s ADSL and Fibre prices: are we really behind the rest of the world?

South Africa's ADSL and Fibre prices - In Comparison to rest of the world

Over the last decade the high price of ADSL and fibre broadband in South Africa has made headlines, and continue to be a concern to businesses, politicians, and consumers.

These high prices resulted in many initiatives – some of which never materialised – to drive down the cost of broadband in South Africa.

Some of these initiatives include local loop unbundling, cheaper national bandwidth, and a national wireless broadband network.

But is fixed broadband really that expensive in South Africa? Over the years the price of ADSL data has plummeted, and ADSL speeds were increased for free.

The best way to assess whether a country’s broadband services are expensive is to benchmark them against international players.

MyBroadband benchmarked South Africa’s broadband prices against four developed countries: United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.

The results show that local fixed broadband prices are in line with international standards for low-end packages, but remain expensive for high-end services.

Country Operator Speed Data Total Monthly Price
Australia Engin 20Mbps 50GB R424
US Comcast 3Mbps Unlimited R425
Australia Engin 20Mbps Unlimited R519
UK Unlimited Broadband 17Mbps 10GB R576
New Zealand Vodafone 10Mbps 80GB R576
New Zealand Vodafone 40Mbps 80GB R576
New Zealand Vodafone 100Mbps 80GB R576
UK Unlimited Broadband 17Mbps Unlimited R672
UK Unlimited BT Infinity 76Mbps Unlimited R672
Australia Telstra 8Mbps 50GB R688
South Africa Telkom 10Mbps 50GB R699
New Zealand Vodafone 10Mbps Unlimited R743
New Zealand Vodafone 40Mbps Unlimited R743
New Zealand Vodafone 100Mbps Unlimited R743
Australia Engin 50Mbps 100GB R754
South Africa Telkom 20Mbps 50GB R790
US Comcast 25Mbps Unlimited R814
UK Unlimited BT Infinity 38Mbps Unlimited R826
Australia Telstra 20Mbps 200GB R877
US Comcast 105Mbps Unlimited R960
South Africa Telkom 40Mbps 100GB R1,028
Australia Telstra 100Mbps 200GB R1,037
Australia Telstra 20Mbps 500GB R1,066
South Africa Telkom 10Mbps Unlimited R1,188
South Africa Telkom 20Mbps Unlimited R1,787
South Africa Telkom 100Mbps 200GB R1,799
South Africa Telkom 40Mbps Unlimited R2,587

 

Exchange rates used:

  • 1 USD = 12.15 ZAR
  • 1 AUD = 9.43 ZAR
  • 1 GBP = 19.20 ZAR
  • 1 NZD = 8.35 ZAR

This article originally appeared on MyBroadband and is republished with permission.

More ADSL news

Best as well as Worst ADSL and VDSL ISPs in South Africa

Best South African ADSL and VDSL prices

Telkom’s uncapped LTE plan to cost R599: not without its drawbacks

Forum discussion
Authors

Join the conversation

South Africa’s ADSL and Fibre prices: are we really behind the rest of the world?

Related posts