By Dylan Bettencourt
- South Africans once paid R45 for 1MB of data but can now get 315MB for the same price, showing a 99% drop.
- Vodacom says low-income users could suffer if Parliament forces data bundles to last three years under new consumer laws.
Twenty-five years ago, South Africans paid R45 for just one megabyte of data – enough for one short email or a few seconds of browsing.
Today, that same R45 can buy 315MB on Vodacom. The price of mobile data has dropped by more than 99%, according to a report by MyBroadband.
In 2000, phones used 2G networks, which could barely handle the Internet. Most people used their phones for SMS and calls, and data was a luxury.
If you adjust for inflation, R169 in today’s money could buy you 2.5GB of data and still leave you with change.
The fall in data prices has made it easier for South Africans to get online, especially in areas where fibre or Wi-Fi is still unavailable.
But keeping prices low comes with risks. Mobile networks warn that cheaper data can overload towers and slow down connections if too many people use them at once.
Parliament is also debating a plan to make mobile networks keep data bundles active for three years under the Consumer Protection Act.
Vodacom said the plan could hurt poor users who depend on small, short-term bundles.
Over the years, faster technology, from 3G in 2003 to 4G and now 5G, has helped lower costs. When 3G arrived, a megabyte dropped from R45 to 60c, and by 2010 it was down to 16c.
Today, buying larger bundles brings the cost down to just 1c per megabyte.
Pictured above: A woman on her phone.
Image source: Pexels
