Vodacom wants to be more than your mobile network. Starting this week, it is also offering Amazon Prime to its South African customers.
The country’s largest mobile operator has struck a partnership with Amazon South Africa to bundle Prime, Amazon’s membership programme, into its plans, the companies said on 25 June 2026. Vodacom called it a first-of-its-kind deal in the market.
The membership gives customers Prime Video with its films, series and Amazon Originals, free same-day and next-day delivery in major cities, member discounts, and free gaming through Amazon Luna with a Twitch subscription.
Who gets it, and what it costs
Access depends on the plan. Vodacom’s RED Core, RED Flexi and RED VIP contract customers get Prime, and from August 2026, so do Home Internet, Mobile Broadband and Fibre subscribers. All prepaid customers can sign up and pay using airtime.
RED Flexi customers receive a 3-month free trial, and RED Core customers receive a 12-month free trial, after which the subscription is billed at R59 per month. RED VIP, Home Internet and Fibre customers get free lifetime access while they remain eligible.
“This partnership marks another important milestone in our journey towards building a digital society,” said Rishaad Tayob, director of consumer business at Vodacom South Africa, adding that it positions the operator “as a holistic digital lifestyle provider, going beyond connectivity”. He noted that the launch comes as South Africans seek more value amid rising living costs.
Telcos chase the bundle
For Amazon, the deal deepens its push into a market it entered only recently. “Since launching Amazon in South Africa two years ago, we have built a store our customers love,” said Robert Koen, managing director for sub-Saharan Africa at Amazon, calling Prime “the next exciting milestone” in the country.
The tie-up extends a relationship that began when Vodacom became the first South African operator to offer Prime Video Mobile Edition in 2022. It also fits a wider pattern of African operators bundling entertainment and lifestyle perks to hold on to customers, much as MTN has done with its One TV streaming service and Vodacom itself has through its other ventures with Amazon. As connectivity margins tighten, the value increasingly sits in everything wrapped around the SIM.
