WhatsApp and OTT Apps Are Draining Billions From South Africa’s Mobile Operators
South Africa’s mobile operators are facing a deepening financial crisis — and the culprit is hiding in plain sight on millions of smartphones. According to the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa)‘s latest State of the ICT Sector report, mobile operators handled 21.5% more voice traffic in 2025 compared to the previous year, yet still managed to earn a staggering R10.4-billion less from mobile services. The numbers paint a troubling picture for an industry struggling to monetise a rapidly evolving digital landscape.
Total mobile services revenue plunged 7.9%, dropping to R121.9-billion in the 12 months ending September 2025, down from R132.4-billion the year before. No service category was spared. Mobile data revenue fell 3.1%, voice revenue dropped 2%, outbound roaming declined 12.4%, and perhaps most alarmingly, text and multimedia messaging revenue collapsed by a jaw-dropping 37.9%. This across-the-board decline signals more than a temporary blip — it reflects a fundamental transformation in how South Africans communicate.
The dramatic dip in messaging revenue tells the most compelling story. Revenue from SMS and MMS services nosedived from R4.1-billion to just R2.6-billion in a single year. Prepaid messaging revenue suffered an even steeper fall of 49.2%, as millions of consumers abandoned traditional text messaging in favour of WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal. Icasa directly linked these losses to the growing dominance of over-the-top (OTT) communication platforms.
“Declines in SMS and voice revenue are consistent with long-term substitution towards OTT messaging and calling applications,” the Icasa report noted. The authority acknowledged that while these platforms reduce revenue from traditional services, they simultaneously fuel rising broadband demand as more consumers rely on data-driven communication tools.
Interestingly, prepaid voice revenue declined 7.6%, while prepaid data revenue climbed 7.7% to R42.1-billion — a sign that consumers are actively redirecting their spending toward data bundles used for streaming, social media browsing, and mobile banking. More calls are being made, but operators are getting paid less for them.
Fixed Broadband Booms as Mobile Bleeds
While the mobile sector bleeds revenue, South Africa’s fixed-line broadband market is thriving. Total fixed internet and data revenue surged 16.1% to R40.6-billion, driven by a 21.5% jump in fixed-wired broadband service revenue. Fibre-to-the-home subscriptions crossed the three-million mark for the first time, recording 22% growth, while total fixed broadband subscriptions rose 19.3% to 3.26 million.
This sharp contrast highlights a structural shift reshaping South Africa’s entire telecoms landscape. Traditional mobile services are being hollowed out by OTT alternatives, while fixed broadband — especially fibre — is capturing an ever-growing share of consumer spending and operator investment. Total fixed-wired investment rose 11.9%, while mobile investment fell 21% — a decisive reallocation of capital that signals where the industry sees its future.
Despite the mobile sector’s struggles, overall telecoms revenue managed a modest 1.6% increase to R236.4-billion, propped up by strong growth in fixed internet and other services, which grew 14.7%. Fixed-line voice revenue, however, continued its long slide, falling 11.8%, confirming that legacy voice services — whether mobile or fixed — are on borrowed time.
The broader ICT sector, which includes telecoms, broadcasting, and postal services, grew by just 0.8% to R273.8-billion. Broadcasting revenue fell 4.6% to R33-billion, while postal revenue dipped 2.3% to R4.3-billion — suggesting the disruption is not limited to mobile telecoms alone.
In response to these market shifts, Icasa has signalled a potential regulatory crackdown, recommending a “comprehensive market enquiry into OTT communication and streaming services to assess their competitive impact on the ICT sector.” South Africa’s Department of Communications has already proposed, through its draft white paper on audiovisual media services, that global streaming platforms could face licensing obligations once they exceed certain revenue thresholds.
The data is drawn from questionnaire responses covering 103 telecommunications licensees, 48 broadcasters, and seven postal operators for the 12-month period ending 30 September 2025. What it reveals is an industry at a crossroads — operators are carrying more traffic than ever before, but the revenues that once flowed from that traffic are increasingly flowing into the coffers of global tech giants instead. Until regulators find a workable framework for OTT accountability, South Africa’s mobile operators will likely continue running faster just to fall further behind.