New tool: compare 5G and LTE home internet deals

Technology in SA
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I have added another free tool to the site, a tool to compare 5G and LTE home internet deals for homes that cannot get fibre.

The problem it solves is that 5G and LTE home internet deals are genuinely hard to compare. Some are sold by speed, some by a monthly data amount, the router is sometimes free and sometimes a hefty once off, and almost every “uncapped” plan quietly slows down after a fair use limit. Holding all of that in your head is impossible.

So the tool splits cleanly into two questions. If you just want unlimited, you pick a minimum speed and it ranks the cheapest plan on each network. If you have a set data amount in mind, you choose how many gigs and it ranks the cheapest plan that covers it.

A few things I tried to get right.

It ranks on the ongoing price, not a temporary introductory price, so a deal that is cheap for three months then jumps up does not unfairly win.

The router cost is shown on every plan, and there is a switch to fold a once off router into the monthly price spread over a year, which changes the ranking quite a bit for the deals where you must buy your own.

It shows the network behind each name. rain, Vodacom, MTN and Telkom run on their own towers, while Cool Ideas, Afrihost and Supersonic all run on MTN, with Supersonic being owned by MTN.

It covers rain, Vodacom, MTN, Telkom, Cool Ideas, Afrihost and Supersonic.

One honest caveat that the tool repeats up front. Fixed wireless depends on the tower at your exact address, so always confirm coverage on the provider’s own site before you buy. The tool ranks on price and specs, it cannot check coverage for you.

Prices were checked on 30 May 2026. These deals change often, so confirm the current price before buying.

Try it here: https://southafricafacts.co.za/5g-lte-home-internet-deals/

If you are on a fixed wireless plan, I would love to know what you pay and whether the tool lands on the same deal. If I have missed a provider you rate, tell me and I will look at adding it.

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Good to see this, because honestly that fair use thing catches everyone out. My brother in law out near Worcester signed up for an “uncapped” deal, chuffed as anything, then by the third week it was crawling slower than the N1 on a Friday afternoon. Nobody reads the small print until it bites them.

The router being free or a fat once off cost is the sneaky one. People look at the monthly price and forget they’ve just paid a thousand bob upfront for a box on the windowsill.

One bit of practical advice from my side, wherever you mount that router, give it a proper spot near a window facing the tower, and put it on a small UPS or inverter feed. When the power goes, and we know it will, your signal box dies the same second your geyser does. I’ve got mine running off the solar setup so the wifi stays up while the street sits in the dark.

Nice tool though, anything that makes these okes show their real numbers gets a thumbs up from me.

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For unlimited should always include FUP as this can be very low and a key discriminator

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Agreed, Nebula. The FUP is where ‘unlimited’ quietly stops being unlimited, and some are set low enough to spoil the whole deal. Right now I show it where the provider publishes it, but you are right it deserves to sit front and centre next to the price. I’ll work on surfacing the threshold for every uncapped plan. Thanks for the steer.

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