by 
Written by Nic Bowen
The Ookla Net Index website regularly conducts testing of data speeds from thousands of user from all around the country. The testing is done to determine average internet speeds, and which areas in the country have the most stable data transfer connections. The average speed of South African broadband connections was 4.5Mbps, which is significantly lower than the global average of 16.7Mbps. When split into average download and upload speeds, South Africa runs at 4.5Mbps for download speed, and 2.1Mbps for upload speed. Of the four major South African cities Johannesburg has the best broadband speed with 7.05Mbps, followed by Pretoria with 6.58Mbps, Cape Town is in third place with 5.98Mbps and Durban in fourth with 4.98Mbps.
The Ookla Net Index was also able to determine which South African suburbs have a faster connection. The more affluent suburbs naturally scored the highest, see below for a full list.
Fixed Broadband Statistics.
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1. Sandton – 22.16 Mbps
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2. Midrand – 12.58 Mbps
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3. Wellington – 11.03 Mbps
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4. Tzaneen – 9.47Mbps
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5. Randburg – 8.51Mbps
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6. Vanderbijlpark – 8.37Mbps
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7. Soweto – 8.34Mbps
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8. Bryanston – 8.22Mbps
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9. Johannesburg – 7.13Mbps
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10. George – 6.77Mbps
Also tested were the mobile broadband statistics, and while they are similar to the fixed broadband stats, there are a few interesting differences.
Mobile Broadband Statistics.
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1. Sandton – 13.48Mbps
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2. Bryanston – 13.01Mbps
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3. Cape Town – 12.43Mbps
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4. Rivonia – 11.44Mbps
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5. Halfway House – 11.34Mbps
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6. Four Ways – 10.48Mbps
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7. Menlo Park – 10.36Mbps
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8. Centurion – 10.36Mbps
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9. Randburg – 9.95Mbps
- 10. Northdene Estate – 9.67Mbps
