South Africa’s mobile network quality is continuing to improve, with the country moving up four places on Opensignal’s Global Network Excellence Index, based on data collected between 1 January and 31 March.
Opensignal launched the Global Network Excellence Index earlier this year (based on fourth quarter 2024 data), as a new tool to help regulators and mobile network operators benchmark the quality of their country’s network infrastructure versus their peers.
In February, South Africa ranked in 64th place out 137 countries in terms of mobile network excellence, outpacing some of its African peers.
Based on the latest data from the first quarter of 2025 (Q1 2025), South Africa rose four places to 60th place globally, and rose two places to 23rd position among large land area markets (defined as those with a land area >200 000 km²).
The index is based on direct measurements of user experience, evaluating countries across three core pillars: 4G/5G availability, how consistently networks support demanding applications, as well as 4G and 5G download speeds.
It provides a country-level ranking and assessment of mobile infrastructure capabilities worldwide. The countries are segmented based on World Bank region, landmass size, and income level definitions and data.
Continual connectivity
According to Opensignal, among large land area markets, South Africa is 23rd (up two spots). It adds that the 4G/5G availability rank was unchanged, excellent consistent quality rose two places and 4G download speed soared +11Mbps (up 15 ranks), while 5G download speed fell three ranks (-29.1Mbps).
“Most countries are seeing steady gains in users’ ability to access modern networks. This reflects ongoing investments in networks and the move away from legacy technologies – particularly in lower and upper middle-income countries, often referred to as emerging markets, where availability gains are often more pronounced,” says AndreyPopov, principal analyst at Opensignal.
“While availability is rising across most regions, low-income markets are falling behind. Most have yet to launch 5G, and those that have are in early deployment stages. The slight drop in 4G/5G availability suggests users are spending more time on 2G/3G networks – or facing signal loss – due to inability to access 4G infrastructure, spectrum reallocation, or rising congestion,” he adds.
Leading the index is South Korea, driven by improvements in 4G/5G availability (up one place) and excellent consistent quality (up six places). However, 4G download speed fell by one place (-1.7Mbps), while 5G download speed stayed at the same rank but gained +16.3Mbps.
Finland moved up one place to second in Q1 2025, helped by gains in 4G/5G availability (up one place), 4G download speed (up two places, +4.4Mbps), and 5G download speed (up five places, +7.4Mbps). Finland’s excellent consistent quality also saw a slight +0.1 percentage point improvement.
Among large land area markets, Finland, Norway and Sweden retained their top positions, with Australia and Japan advancing to fourth and fifth, respectively. In small land area markets, South Korea overtakes Denmark for the number one position, while Iceland and Singapore climb the ranks, with their 4G and 5G network speed improvements.
Popov points out that in several developed markets, a clear trend has emerged: 5G download speeds are declining, while 4G speeds are improving.
He explains that this shift highlights changes in how networks are being optimised – with many operators rebalancing resources between coverage and performance.
“This is especially evident in markets like Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Luxemburg, where 5G speeds dropped, while performance of 4G networks climbed,” Popov notes.
“For instance, Denmark is currently migrating the 1 800MHz band from 4G to 5G. While this shift improves 5G availability – thanks to 1 800MHz's strong propagation characteristics – it also brings more users onto the 5G network, increasing load. However, since 1 800MHz offers lower peak performance than higher frequency bands, its use is contributing to a dip in average 5G download speeds, even as 4G speeds benefit from reduced congestion.”
Mobile in motion
In Norway, Popov adds, network modernisation efforts and increased use of 700MHz low-band spectrum are contributing to slower 5G speeds.
He says operators across the Nordics are prioritising broader geographic coverage over peak 5G throughput, trading top-end speed for reach.
“This reflects a maturing 5G ecosystem, where rising adoption and heavy data use are outpacing capacity growth. As networks prioritise 5G access across wider areas, strain is emerging, leading to speed declines of varying severity across markets.
“The Q1 2025 results illustrate how global mobile network performance is in constant evolution. Markets today are navigating the increased load on 5G networks from increased adoption and capacity limits, while 4G networks are progressively serving as offloaded parts of networks.
“Going forward, as more users shiftto 5G, managing congestion and sustaining consistent quality will remain acentral challenge for operators aiming to stay competitive,” Popov concludes.
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