South Africa has the best mobile network in Africa – OpensignalSouth Africa has the best mobile network in Africa – Opensignal

South Africa has been ranked as the top African country when it comes to mobile network excellence, followed by Mauritius and Morocco.  

That is according to a new Global Network Excellence Index by Opensignal which found that South Africa ranked 64th globally out of 137 countries.

Mauritius was in 70th place overall; Morocco was 87th; Tunisia was 89th; and Madagascar was in 93rd place.

Egypt, Namibia and Kenya also made it into the top 100 countries while Zimbabwe missed out by one spot, coming in at number 101.

The index tracked the following metrics:

Opensignal said the index is intended to be a resource for network operators, policymakers, regulators and consumers, offering insights into which markets are ensuring seamless digital experiences in an increasingly connected world.

Related:Opensignal: South Africa has Africa's fastest download speed

The index revealed that South Africa ranked in 25th place among large countries (defined as those with a land area larger than 200,000 square kilometers), making it the highest-placed African country.

SA was 32nd globally in terms of 5G download speed at an average of 212.6 Mbit/s while South Korea took the crown for the fastest 5G download speed of 446.3 Mbit/s on average.

SA was 58th for 4G/5G availability, with users connected 91% of the time, and 69th for excellent consistent quality (ECQ), with 65.6% consistency.

South Africa only ranked 81st for 4G download speed, with an average of 26.5 Mbit/s – relatively slow compared to the top ranked country of Norway, which had an average 4G download speed of 90.7 Mbit/s.

"While country-level network excellence is significantly influenced by factors like income level and population density, similar countries can experience vastly different levels of network excellence depending on regulatory policies and government action," Opensignal said.

African rankings

In sub-Saharan Africa, South Africa topped the rankings overall out of 24 countries included, while Ethiopia ranked in last place.

South Africa was also top when it came to 4G/5G availability and 5G download speed.

Mauritius ranked highest for ECQ and Madagascar topped the list for 4G download speed.

Top ten sub-Saharan African countries for overall network excellence:

If you include the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) the top eight were all countries in the Middle East – led by Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman – with SA and Mauritius slipping down to ninth and tenth place.

Morocco followed in 11th place; Tunisia in 12th; Egypt in 15th; and Libya in 27th place.

4G/5G availability:

Excellent consistent quality (ECQ):

4G download speed (average):

Only two countries in sub-Saharan Africa had rankings for 5G download speed – South Africa at an average of 212.6 Mbit/s and Mauritius at 180.2 Mbit/s on average.

If you include MENA countries, those in the Middle East dominated with the top eight all coming from that region – led by Qatar at 367 Mbit/s – putting South Africa and Mauritius in ninth and tenth place.

There was no 5G download speed data for any North African nations.