The Competition Commission made the announcement at a press conference on Tuesday, saying that cost cuts will save the consumer R2.4 billion. The regulator has been tough on companies they say are charging “excessive prices” for data, with South Africans paying exorbitant fees to get online.

He said that Vodacom and MTN must also independently reach an agreement with the commission on the reduction of prices of all 500MB 30-day prepaid data bundles to reflect the same cost per megabyte of 500MB 30-day bundles on post-paid or contract plans.

He said that service providers would also come to agreements with education institutions to power education portals free of charge. “Vodacom will expand its 0-rating offering to all public schools and universities. They will be able to apply to get their portal rated through a clear and transparent process.” Wikipedia will also be free to use from here on out, and customers will be able to apply for jobs through approved job finding services for free.

“This is with the aim of improving employment opportunities for the youth,” he said. Facebook, news, weather and health services will also be made available for free. “South Africa performs poorly compared to other countries on data costs, compared to other countries. South African prices are higher than in other countries serviced by Vodacom and MTN.”

“Data bundles will fall from R149/gb to R99/gb. This represents a 34% price decrease. Customers that buy smaller bundles, which is usually the poorest of the poor, will see the greatest benefit of this agreement.”