There are four service providers in South Africa:
Service Provider
Vodacom dominates the South African cellphone market with 58% market share or approximately 23 million customers. However, MTN covers an impressive expanse of Africa and dominates the African cellphone market in general.
Customer sentiment is that MTN generally provides better coverage (or signal) in South Africa than Vodacom, the MTN Data Network is the strongest of all the providers and CellC provides a weak data network. An ICASA survey showed that Cell C receives the most complaints (19%), followed by Vodacom (19%) and then MTN (18%). Note that Cell C notched up the same number of complaints as Vodacom - and more than MTN - despite the fact that it has only around 10% market share in the local cellular market.
It will cost you 99c to purchase a Vodacom or MTN starter pack. All South African cellular service providers must comply with the new RICA act as of July 1 2009 and require you to provide positive proof of identification when applying for a new SIM card.
