Best wireless broadband networks for gaming in SA

MyBroadband’s latest Speedtest statistics show that Vodacom offers the best South African latency, at an average of 103ms. Neotel is the worst ranked in SA latency, at 253ms.

On the international Speedtest results, Cell C secured the top spot with an average latency of 302ms, while MTN is the worst ranked for international latency, at 460ms.

For online gamers, an internet connection with consistently low latency and minimal data packet loss is paramount – many games can operate well over a low bandwidth connection, but poor latency can be the downfall of an online match.

While ADSL is the preferred connection type among gamers, unfortunately it is not widely available in South Africa due to a number of factors, meaning that many gamers rely on a wireless internet connection.

MyBroadband’s Speedtest filters results based on IP address ranges, user survey input, and other variables to ensure accurate results are achieved. Tests are made to Johannesburg and London Speedtest servers to differentiate between local and international network performance.

SA Speedtest results

According to the results for the Johannesburg server over the last few months, not only did Vodacom have the best average latency (103ms), but also achieved the highest average download speed (4,837kbps).

The following table provides an overview of the average local download speed, upload speed, and latency for local wireless and mobile broadband providers.

Johannesburg speed test server results
Provider	Download speed (kbps)	Upload speed (kbps)	Latency (ms)
Vodacom	4,837	997	103
Cell C	2,848	1161	130
8ta	2,748	1153	145
MTN	1,848	651	220
iBurst	583	194	239
Neotel	795	350	253

International Speedtest results

The international Speedtests to London reveal that Cell C has the best latency (302ms), followed by 8ta and Vodacom. 8ta achieved the best international download speed (2,718kbps), followed by Vodacom and Cell C.

The following table provides an overview of the average international download speed, upload speed, and latency for local wireless and mobile broadband providers.

London speed test server results
Provider	Download speed (kbps)	Upload speed (kbps)	Latency (ms)
Cell C	2,087	677	302
8ta	2,718	816	308
Vodacom	2,639	662	320
Neotel	6,87	224	325
iBurst	512	195	389
MTN	1,679	429	460