- Old Mutual surveyed working people aged 18 to 65 about money worries and found cellphone bills are first to go.
- Vodacom, MTN and Telkom all report customers are spending less money per person on cellphone contracts and data than before.
When money gets tight, cellphone bills are the first thing to go.
That is what the Old Mutual Savings and Investment Monitor found when it asked working South Africans about their spending.
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Nearly one in four people, 23%, have switched to the cheapest cellphone or data plan they can find. That is down from 27% last year, but still a lot of people are cutting back.
The survey asked working people aged 18 to 65 about their money worries. Keeping their jobs and earning enough to survive topped the list. Then came cutting costs and managing debt.
But there is some good news. Things are looking up for people earning R8,000 or more a month. And 42% of workers now feel hopeful about the economy, up from 36% last year.
Seven out of 10 working South Africans believe their money situation will improve in the next six months.
The mobile networks are feeling the pinch. Vodacom, MTN and Telkom all say customers are spending less money per person than before.
Vodacom South Africa made R21.1-billion in 2022. It fell to R20.9-billion in 2023 and R20.1-billion in 2024. It only started climbing again in 2025 to R20.5-billion.
The networks blame tough times. High interest rates and prices going up mean people have less money to spend.
More people are also getting rejected when they apply for contracts. That pushes them to prepaid, where they hunt for the cheapest deals.
Some people cannot afford expensive smartphones without a contract. So the networks are now offering three-year and four-year contracts with smaller monthly payments.
