What is the real cost of communications for ordinary people? R2K, in collaboration with the LINK Centre at Wits, has conducted a study on the lived cost of communications in South Africa. For many poor households in South Africa the cost of high telecommunications can have a crippling effect, forcing many to cut back on other necessities just to be able to afford airtime.

This study – conducted in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town – explores these lived experiences in depth and asks ordinary South Africans if they feel they are getting the quality of service and value for money they expect.