Johannesburg eSIM
In Johannesburg you connect to Vodacom or MTN, whichever is performing better where you are standing. The median across the country is 42 Mbps. Your data starts working the moment you land, before you reach the immigration hall.
- Networks
- Vodacom and MTN
- Real speed in South Africa
- 42 Mbps median, 10 Mbps for the slowest tenth736 travellers across South Africa, rolling 90 days
- 5G
- yes, non standalone
- Throttle
- None on metered plans
- Tethering
- Allowed on every plan

Plans that cover Johannesburg
| Data | Validity | Price per GB | Price | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | Never expires | $7.89 | $7.89 | |
| 3 GB | Never expires | $4.63 | $13.89 | |
| 5 GBMost travellers | Never expires | $3.78 | $18.89 | |
| 10 GB | Never expires | $3.09 | $30.89 | |
| 20 GB | Never expires | $2.84 | $56.89 |
How South Africa compares across Africa
- Speed rank
- 2 of 20 destinations we sell in Africa
- Regional median
- 29.5 Mbps
- Consistency
- The slowest tenth still reaches 24 percent of the median
- Upstream networks
- 2, Vodacom, MTN
- 5G
- Yes, non standalone
- Next fastest nearby
- Mauritius, 52 Mbps
- Next slowest nearby
- Seychelles, 41 Mbps
- Cities with their own page
- 3: Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban
- tenth percentile
- 10 Mbps
- Behind these figures
- 736 travellers, rolling 90 days
Landing at O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB)
- Airport
- JNB / FAOR
- Distance
- 20 km from the centre of Johannesburg
- Also serves
- Lanseria International Airport (HLA)
Getting into Johannesburg
- Gautrain airport service to Sandton (JNB)
Underground and on the metro
Gautrain runs 3 lines. It opened in 2010. The operator does not publish whether the tunnels carry a mobile signal, so we do not claim either way.
Worth knowing about Johannesburg
- The Gautrain station is inside the O. R. Tambo terminal itself and runs a dedicated airport service to Sandton with extra luggage space, so no road transfer is needed to reach the northern business district.
- About 15 km of the Gautrain's 80 km network is in tunnel, so part of the ride into Sandton is underground.
- Johannesburg has a second, privately owned airport at Lanseria, northwest of the city, used by FlySafair for domestic routes and by Airlink to Harare - arriving there means no Gautrain connection.
- O. R. Tambo splits international traffic across terminals A1 and A2 while other terminals handle domestic flights, so international-to-domestic connections mean changing terminal.