5G in South Africa
5G is the fastest mobile network technology widely deployed in South Africa. For homes outside fibre footprint, 5G fixed-wireless is now a credible primary internet option.
5G explained
5G is the fifth generation of mobile network technology. It delivers download speeds of 200-1000 Mbps in real-world conditions and latency under 20 ms - comparable to mid-tier fibre. See our deeper What is 5G? guide for the technical details.
5G providers in SA
- Rain: Unlimited 5G Home WiFi (unlimited home) from R679/m at up to 30 Mbps. Uncapped, no fair-use policy and no throttling, month-to-month - the only operator here whose own terms carry no threshold at all.
- MTN: Home Internet Shesh@ 200 from R369/m. Strongest metro coverage, but 100gb at full speed plus a 100gb 5g bundle, then throttling.
- Vodacom: 5G home internet from R369/m per Vodacom's own category listing. It is not uncapped: usage stops at the plan threshold (600GB on the 10 Mbps plan, 800GB on 20 Mbps, 1TB on 30 Mbps).
- Telkom: Telkom 5G Internet at R499/m for 40 Mbps, on a 24 months contract - 1tb at 40 mbps, then 50gb at 4 mbps, then 2 mbps unlimited.
- Supersonic: Supersonic publishes no 5G price anywhere on its site. Its own pricing call only runs after an address coverage check, so a quote cannot be seen without submitting your address as a sales lead. Its 5G runs on MTN's network, so MTN's own Shesh@ pricing is the closest sourceable comparison - but it is not a Supersonic price.
- Cell C: 5G via roaming on MTN's network.
Every price above was read from the operator's own site on 15 October 2026. These are mobile-network products and they reprice far more often than fibre, so confirm on the operator's page before you buy.
5G vs fibre
- Speed: 5G peaks higher in bursts; fibre is more consistent.
- Latency: Fibre wins (5-15 ms vs 15-30 ms on 5G).
- Reliability: Fibre is unaffected by weather or tower congestion.
- Install: 5G is plug-and-play; fibre requires installation.
- Price: Entry fibre is R279/m for 5/5 Mbps against R369/m for the cheapest verified 5G home plan (Home Internet Shesh@ 200) - and the fibre line is uncapped where most 5G plans are not.
If your address has fibre, fibre wins. If not, check coverage first - 5G is the best alternative.
Frequently asked questions
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