Heading to South Africa for 12 days and would like a SIM card with data to keep up to date with e-mails when WiFi is not available.
Any recommendations on a SIM card to either purchase upon arrival, or even better, to get sent to me know in Australia prior to departure?
Cheers all!
Hi
My suggestion is go MTN. I go to South Africa each year for 4 weeks at a time. MTN has best coverage and with some of the other providers like Telkom Mobile (Telkom is similar to Telstra as landline copper belongs to Telkom), coverage is very poor, outside the metro areas.
Purchase a MTN package that includes a decent amount of data. Determine your data usage for the period as it is cheaper to buy the data bundle upfront. I usually buy 2gb data with minimal voice.
yes - you can buy a sim at the airport for R50 (about $5.50 AU). Sims (all types) are free at a Mobile Shop. There are at all shopping centres so easy to get setup for a free sim, if you are no great hurry.
Can't recall exact amount - may have been R250 for 2gb data with a tiny amount of voice. For a short period - go for a smaller plan - around $15 AU should get you setup
Hope this helps…..
Great advice. Thank you both!
Just get one at the airport. It's cheaper that way.
Networks in terms of market share and coverage compared to Australian telcos:
Vodacom = Telstra
MTN = Optus
Cell C/Virgin = Vodafone
I've always used Vodacom (SA expat here) back in the days, but if you're looking for more value for money then consider Virgin.
I think there are some crappy tourist tailored sims… Just get the local one and top up in stores or online. There should be 4G at most locations if not HSDPA 3G.
Oh - last time when I was there I asked for a micro sim. They were trying to sell them for R50 or something ridiculous (standard sims are R1). If this is still the case just cut your own sim.
This page has some helpful info: http://prepaid-data-sim-card.wikia.com/wiki/South_Africa