By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Telecommunications group Telkom will increase tariffs across its mobile and fixed-line portfolios from 1 April 2026, citing rising operational costs, inflationary pressures and the need to continue investing in network infrastructure.
Telkom said the adjustments are necessary to sustain investment in network infrastructure, service quality, and customer experience amid South Africa’s ongoing economic pressures.
Monthly subscription fees on post-paid mobile voice plans – including FlexOn, Infinite and legacy tariffs – as well as LTE data plans will rise by a blended average of 6.5%.
Selected LTE wireless capped plans will see more moderate increases, averaging 4.5% and ranging between 2.6% and 7.2%. All uncapped LTE offerings and all Telkom 5G internet plans will remain unchanged.
Prepaid customers will also be affected. Out-of-bundle voice rates on Telkom More will increase from R1.91 to R1.99/minute, while Telkom Thola More rates will rise from 80c to 89c/minute. Out-of-bundle data and SMS rates will not change.
Device instalment fees, value-added services and business-specific tariffs are excluded from the increases. Plan benefits such as data allocations, voice minutes and SMSes also remain unchanged.
Telkom said it will also increase pricing on specific standard LTE bundles, with updated prices reflected at the time of purchase.
Consumer and SMB fixed voice tariffs will increase by an average of 10% for legacy products and 6% for current products.
Fibre tariffs – for both consumer and SMB customers – will increase by an average of 6%.
BCX, Telkom’s enterprise IT services arm, will separately implement increases on business access lines from 1 April, affecting PSTN, ISDN BRI and ISDN PRI lines as well as indoor and outdoor extensions. BizTalk calling plans are also subject to the adjustment.
The increases apply to all customers, including those on month-to-month arrangements and fixed-term contracts. Telkom’s standard terms and conditions allow it to adjust subscription fees within a contract period.
Telkom’s Consumer and Small Business CEO, Lunga Siyo, said the company had worked to keep the increases measured while protecting key products.
“These adjustments are necessary to ensure we continue providing reliable, high-quality services in an evolving economic landscape,” Siyo said.
He said Telkom had deliberately shielded device instalments, popular uncapped plans, and 5G services from the increases.
Customers will be notified of changes to their plans via SMS, email, invoice inserts, and digital channels ahead of the 1 April implementation date. Details are also available on its website.