SA users spent just 3.7% of their connected time on 5G in Q1 2026, despite the country being one of Africa's earliest 5G launchers back in 2019 and 2020. The data, published today by network experience firm Opensignal, shows that even users with 5G-capable handsets clocked only 11.1% of their connected time on 5G, with 86.1% still on 4G.
The constraint, per the report, is not adoption, device affordability or network performance. It's where SA's operators have actually deployed 5G.
Interesting insights on the SA 5G coverage gap
When SA users do reach 5G, the experience is strong. Average download speeds hit 196.4 Mbps in Q1 2026, nearly five times faster than 4G at 39.4 Mbps. Upload was 22.5 Mbps versus 8.1 Mbps. Consistent Quality, the share of time the network meets the demands of common apps, was 81% on 5G versus 66.2% on 4G.
The catch is where 5G runs: Mid-band spectrum carries almost all observed 5G traffic in SA: 3.5 GHz is 100% 5G, and 2.6 GHz is 23% 5G, with 77% still on LTE.
Low-band tells the opposite story. 700 MHz remains 99.7% on 4G, and 800 MHz is at 100% 4G, despite operators winning all four bands in ICASA's R14.4bn 2022 spectrum auction.
India, by contrast, has put low-band into its 5G layer, and Indian users spent 34.6% of their connected time on 5G in Q1 2026, nearly 10x the SA figure.
The spectrum's paid for, the network's built, the switch is just off
Mid-band 5G handles speed in good signal areas, but low-band 5G is what carries the signal indoors, into corners of coverage, and across the kind of everyday SA mobile experience that determines whether the technology actually shows up for people.
SA's operators have left that layer on LTE. It is a deployment decision, not a regulatory or hardware constraint. The country built the showpiece performance layer and skipped the practical coverage layer, which is becoming a depressingly familiar pattern in SA tech and policy.
The infrastructure is there. The investment is sunk. Switching it on is the missing step, and the wait for it is now being measured in years, not quarters.
You might also like our Melon Mobile guide to starting an MVNO in SA, the AI developer recruitment shake-up and some top SA startups.
Get more SA tech and business news and subscribe to The Open Letter.
