Network providers compared – Huawei, Nokia, ZTE and Ericsson

Q1 2022 speed test data from MyBroadband revealed that South Africans experience the fastest mobile network performance on Huawei radio equipment.

The report is based on over 300,000 speed tests performed by users of the MyBroadband speed test app and controlled test drives.

MyBroadband’s speed test servers are hosted in Teraco’s independent data centers to ensure a carrier-independent testing environment.

Through NAPAfrica, all network operators at its peering points enjoy a free 10 Gbps connection to MyBroadband’s speed test platform.

MyBroadband used speed test results to examine the average speed users get from network equipment vendors Huawei, Nokia, ZTE, and Ericsson.

Mobile operators typically use two or more network providers for their networks. Telkom is the exception.

• Vodacom uses Huawei and Nokia
• MTN uses Huawei, ZTE and Ericsson
• Rain uses Huawei and Nokia
• Telkom only uses Huawei

Although there is a difference in performance between radio access provider equipment, other factors also impact performance.

Core network architecture, link capacity, and network optimization can influence performance.

It also depends on the investment of mobile operators in specific areas. For example, carriers typically spend more on networks in cities, which translates to higher speeds in metropolitan areas.

Even with these factors in mind, it’s interesting to see how different providers compare in terms of speed.

Vodacom

Vodacom uses Huawei and Nokia radio equipment. Huawei reigned supreme on upload and download speed, while Nokia offered slightly lower latency.

MTN

MTN uses three different providers: Ericsson, Huawei and ZTE. Huawei was the top performer in the MTN network, followed closely by Ericsson. ZTE had much lower speeds, but it offered the lowest latency.

Rain

Like Vodacom, Rain uses Nokia and Huawei radio equipment. Rain users covered by Huawei gear experienced better speeds and latencies.

Telkom

Telkom’s entire network is based on Huawei equipment, with average performance between what Rain and Vodacom achieved on Huawei equipment.

Vendor Performance Summary

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