Why mobile data expires in South Africa
Mobile networks recently defended why mobile data expires after a certain period.
South Africa’s leading mobile network operators were in the hot seat in Parliament when MPs questioned why mobile data expires.
According to News24, executives from MTN, Vodacom, Telkom, Cell C, and Rain appeared before the Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technology, facing tough questions from MPs on issues such as data costs, load shedding disruptions, and why airtime and data expire at all.
They especially highlighted the frustration many South Africans feel about mobile data expiring if it's not used.
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"We understand that it is the nature of your business, but please understand that as customers, we need to be able to have the flexibility and the choice to do what’s right for our pockets and what’s right for our needs at the time. So I do encourage that the MNOs relook at the strategy around how we do data expiry," said DA MP S’bongiseni Vilakazi.
EFF MP Sinawo Thambo added that while there may be a business reason for expiry, it affects basic access to rights like communication and information.
"I don't doubt that there is a logical financial explanation for the expiry mandate of data and airtime... which may be logical to you but continues to undermine access to information for ordinary South Africans," he said.
So, why does data actually expire?
MTN South Africa CEO Charles Molapisi admitted it’s annoying for customers but insisted it's not done to mislead anyone.
"Is it confusing? Yes. Can the consumer sometimes find it annoying? Correct."
He said it boils down to capital allocation - how they manage infrastructure and resources.
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Vodacom South Africa CEO Sitholizwe Mdlalose compared buying data to purchasing a Gautrain ticket rather than a loaf of bread.
"To buy a data bundle is not like buying a loaf of bread… it is the access that it is giving you to that service."
He argued that making data last forever would require huge infrastructure investment, which would push costs up.
"It would be like saying you want to build a five-lane highway across the country because it must always be able to take five cars simultaneously."
Shorter expiry periods, he said, actually help lower-income users, as networks can price those bundles more affordably.
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Telkom Consumer CEO Lunga Siyo warned of the financial risks of offering data that never expires.
If customers don't use their airtime, it sits on the balance sheet as a "contingent liability."
Over time, this could inflate liabilities so much that companies appear technically insolvent, making borrowing more expensive and pushing up prices for everyone.
Source: News24
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