Vodacom’s announced price increases — for most of its subscription plans – are set to kick in from 1 April this year. As with MTN’s recent increase, the company is holding price inflation to about 5% (5.3%, to be exact). But it’s still an uptick in your contract premium you probably weren’t prepared for.
Vodacom says that it’s time to pass some of the financial load it’s been carrying on to customers. “Over the past three years, Vodacom has absorbed costs and helped buffer our customers from telco price increases. While cost increases are unavoidable across all industries, we are committed to keeping them as low as possible.”
Not Vodacom’s April Fools joke
Vodacom might have done what they claimed to. Some price increases are almost negligible — The Legacy Smart Contract’s Smart Light package goes up by just R8 a month, as do many others. RED VIP 100GB Unlimited customers are in the greatest shock come 1 April. They can expect to pay R145 more per month — but stacked against the R2,900 they were paying previously, it’s hardly a dent.
Customers with the following plans should expect their installments to change; Legacy Smart Contract, Legacy Smart TopUp, Legacy RED Contract, Legacy RED TopUp, New RED Contract, New RED TopUp, and lastly RED for Business Contract.
The changes coming to the Legacy Smart Contract packages are pictured below.
| Price Plan Description | Old Price (VAT incl) | New Price (VAT incl) |
| Smart Light | R141 | R148 |
| Smart XS | R159 | R167 |
| SMART XS + | R179 | R188 |
| Smart S | R219 | R230 |
| Smart S + | R259 | R272 |
| Smart Data 1GB | R279 | R293 |
| SMART S + | R309 | R325 |
| Smart M | R329 | R346 |
| Smart More Data 2GB | R369 | R388 |
| Smart M + | R379 | R398 |
| Smart Data 2GB | R409 | R430 |
| SMART M + | R519 | R545 |
| Smart L | R559 | R587 |
| Smart More Data 4GB | R579 | R608 |
| Smart L + | R619 | R650 |
| Smart More Data 6GB | R729 | R766 |
| SMART L + | R759 | R797 |
| Smart XL | R779 | R818 |
| Smart XL + | R849 | R892 |
There is also a range of ways to confirm which contract you’re on if you’re the forgetful type. It’s possible through the My Vodacom app, via Vodacom’s website (once you’ve logged in) or you can go old-school and use a USSD code. Just type *135#, select option 10, then 2 (Services), followed by 5 (My Price Plan). Then you’ll know exactly where to look to spot your upcoming price increase.