Telkom hikes tariff plans by 8% as data revenue comes under pressure

South African telco Telkom has introduced an 8% increase to its voice and data plans, effective April 1. The operator said the adjustment is aimed at sustaining quality service. 

The new prices cut across its prepaid and postpaid plans, with adjustment of some plans at 2.6%, while the majority of the plans, especially postpaid, saw an 8% increase. 

Telkom noted that the tariff hike is necessary to maintain service quality amid rising operating costs and broader macroeconomic factors.

“To continuously maintain quality service offerings to you, due to rising costs and broader economic factors, we have made adjustments to the pricing of some of our products and services,” Telkom said, noting that “We remain committed to delivering great value and appreciate your continued support.”

The hike comes at a time when more than half of the company’s revenue comes from data earnings. 

In its third quarter of 2025 earnings report, Telkom reported revenue of $701 million, up 1.3% year-over-year. The revenue was powered by data revenue, which now makes up 60% of its earnings. Its mobile subscriber base has also surpassed 25 million, with most users utilising mobile data.

Data revenue increased by 9.6% in the quarter as mobile data saw a growth of 12.9% while fibre revenue, which supports home internet connections, rose by 8.9%.

For Telkom, the reactive status of subscribers to the latest adjustments is pivotal to its future earnings. It’s also dependent on how other operators decide to react to the unfavourable economic conditions in South Africa.

Also Read: Data revenue now makes up 60% of Telkom’s total earnings as mobile subscribers hit 25 million.

Details on Telkom’s tariff hike

Telkom is increasing the voice rate of its Telkom More and Telkom Thola More prepaid plans.

While subscribers of the Telkom More plan will experience a 4.2% increase in voice rate from R1.91 to R1.99 per minute, those on the Telkom Thola More plan will see their voice rate increase from R0.80 to R0.89 per minute. 

There are also price changes to four of Telkom’s prepaid LTE data packages. The Unlimited Off-Peak LTE plan will increase from R259 to R279 per month, while the Unlimited All Hours 10Mbps plan will rise by R20 to R649 per month.

Also, the Unlimited All Hours 20Mbps plan will increase by R50 to R789 per month, and the 1TB LTE data package is also increasing from R949 to R999 per month.

For the postpaid, more than 200 plans are set to witness a surge ranging from 2.6% to 8%.

For instance, 10GB LTE Wireless will increase from R65.00 to R70.20, while 12.5GB LTE is now R109.00 from R105.00. The 180GB LTE Wireless will rise by R10 to R399, while the completely unlimited plan increases by R118.10 to R1,476.29.

The development comes at a time when voice and data usage have become an integral part of everyday life and business. The adjustment, even though it’s a little for some, demands an extra financial cost when summed in bulk.

In addition, it’s a pressure on other basic life expenses such as fuel or transport fare, food, and school costs. Coming at the start of the second quarter or the year makes it a burden on the year’s budget that is still taking shape.

With Telkom announcing an increase to voice and data plans, it’s unclear whether other telcos (MTN, Cell C, Rain, Vodacom) in South Africa will follow suit. 

The South African economy has witnessed some headwinds in recent months, attributed to inflation, high unemployment, shocks in oil prices and US tariffs. Since 2022, economic growth has remained essentially stagnant at around 1%, persistently below population growth, and thereby ensuring a continuously declining real GDP per capita.

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