South Africans are still spending nearly eight times more connected time on 4G networks, despite the increasing coverage, handset availability and better performance of 5G networks, Opensignal’s first-quarter data has revealed. While South Africa was an early African 5G mover, with launches in 2019 and 2020, users equipped with 5G-capable devices spent just 11.1% of their connected time on 5G in the first quarter of 2026, and 86.1% on 4G, which still anchors the daily mobile experience.

Despite rapid expansion of fifth-generation technology, South Africans exhibit limited time spent on 5G-enabled smartphones, at just 11.1% of their connected time.

South Africans are still spending nearly eight times more connected time on 4G networks, despite the increasing coverage, handset availability and better performance of 5G…