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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Two more providers have been added to the tool, Axxess and RSAWEB. Both run on the MTN network, like Cool Ideas, Afrihost and Supersonic.

Axxess has uncapped tiers from R379 to R999 (Starter through Max+, all up to 250Mbps, with a fair use limit from 150GB up to 1000GB before it slows down) and capped LTE tiers from R399 for 150GB up to R1799 for 1500GB. The router is R1499 once off (a ZTE G5TS, discounted from R2499) on Starter, Plus and Advanced, and free only on Max and Max+.

RSAWEB has uncapped tiers from R295 for 20Mbps up to R895 for 250Mbps, and capped tiers that split your data into an anytime portion and a night time portion (00:00 to 04:59), from R45 for 10GB up to R745 for 800GB. Unlike Axxess, RSAWEB does not bundle a router, you either bring your own or buy one from their shop for about R1985.

Both were checked on 6 July 2026. Have a look and let me know if the numbers match what you are seeing on their sites.

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This is such a needed tool, honestly. In my own street in Bryanston we’ve got a mix of fibre and LTE because one side of the road never got Openserve infrastructure rolled out, so I’ve watched neighbours go through this exact headache. The router cost thing especially catches people out because HR minded folk like me tend to budget month to month and forget to ask about the once off hardware fee until the invoice lands.

On the FUP point, I’d add that it would help to show what happens after the threshold, not just the number. A drop to 1Mbps versus 5Mbps after your cap is a completely different experience if you’re trying to work from home on video calls. A lot of us are doing hybrid work now and a “slow but usable” tier versus a “basically unusable” tier is the real decision maker, more than the headline data amount ever was. Would be keen to see that nuance built in if the providers publish it.

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All the FUPs are pathetically low and each drops to a speed only just ok for browsing

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Access came up as lowest for R379 but small print says speed depends and after FUP it can be very low - like dialup modem of yesteryear

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Just found Cool Ideas wih 450GB FUP for a 50Mbps 5G line for R359. Router only R750. Better than my Afrihost 50Mbps LTE with 150G FUP for R429. Would not have seen without this tool!

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Yes, Coolideas is really good value for money.

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Quick update, I ran a price check across all eight providers today.

rain has reshuffled its pricing. The 60Mbps tier moved from R899 to R799, and the unlimited speed tier moved from R1099 to R1199, so it is now cheaper to get capped speed and pricier to go uncapped. Updated the tool to match.

Everything else, Vodacom, MTN, Telkom, Cool Ideas, Afrihost, Supersonic, Axxess and RSAWEB, checked out unchanged.

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My dilemma now is both MTN and Vodacom have 5G coverage with same speed, pricing, FUP and router deals. Which do I go for :grinning_face:

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Ah the classic coin flip. If everything’s identical on paper, I’d stop comparing spec sheets and go check actual signal strength outside your house at different times of day, especially evenings when everyone’s home and streaming. Coverage maps always look the same until you’re the guy stuck behind a hill or a tower that’s overloaded on your specific street. Worth asking neighbours on the same network what they’re actually getting too, way more useful than any FUP page. If you’re still stuck after that, just go with whichever network you’re already on for cell, one bill and one call centre beats juggling two for no real benefit. Not the exciting answer, I know, but at that point it genuinely is a coin toss.

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Yeah, better the devil you know but this will be my first foray into 5G which is a different kettle of fish compared to the LTE (MTN) I currently have.

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