• Minister Solly Malatsi answered questions from uMkhonto Wesizwe MP Seeng Mokoena about why data prices have not changed much.

• One gigabyte of prepaid data now costs R79 compared to R100 in 2020 but some prices barely changed at all.

Communications Minister Solly Malatsi says data prices have dropped but not all costs have gone down by much.

He was speaking in Parliament after uMkhonto Wesizwe MP Seeng Mokoena asked about data prices.

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The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) gave spectrum licences to network operators in 2022.

Malatsi said the price drops show that competition and government action are working.

"However, operators required time to integrate and monetise their spectrum allocations before the benefits were realised," he said.

For prepaid data bought for 30 days, 1GB now costs R79, down from R100 in 2020.

But 500MB has barely changed. It dropped from R69.60 to R69.

For postpaid customers, 1GB has stayed at R40.

But 5GB has dropped sharply, from R199 in 2020 to R99 now. It went up to R221 in 2021 before falling.

Malatsi said fibre companies and internet service providers keep bringing out new services and faster speeds.

"Increased product choice and improvement in the quality of service result in competitive pricing and more product innovation," he said.

More people are using data bundles for apps like WhatsApp, Facebook and TikTok.

The United Nations says internet costs should not be more than 2% of what a country earns per person each month.

South Africa's percentage was 3.95% in 2019. It fell to 2.53% in 2020, then 2.32% in 2021, 1.76% in 2022 and 1.65% in 2023.

"In 2023, the data-only mobile broadband basket, as a percentage of GNI per capita, shows significant improvements in affordability," Malatsi said.

Angola was at 1.73%, Namibia at 1.06% and South Africa at 1.65% in 2023.