"They found that lower-income consumers were exploited more compared with wealthier consumers."

He said those buying smaller data bundles pay up to twice as much compared with consumers who buy larger bundles.

"The cost of mobile data is anti-poor and lacks transparency, with lower-income consumers being exploited compared to higher income consumers."

Bonakele said it was clear from the inquiry that mobile operators prefer to offer "specials" instead of lowering the actual price of data so that all consumers can benefit.

He said careful thought must be given to ensure competition is enhanced with free public WiFi rolled out to ensure that the "poorest of the poor" and those living in rural areas can access the internet.

The commission's chief economist, James Hodge, said the consistent message from the inquiry is that SA performs poorly when it comes to the price of mobile data.

"Some of the operators charge six to 10 times more in SA than they do in other countries, with the data price gap widening rapidly over time."

He said the country has a market where the pricing structure inexplicably penalises the poor.

"There is no cost justification for why consumers are paying two to three times more for 1GB of data."

Hodge said while the poor do better when it comes to free data, they are negatively affected by the time period in which they have to use it.

He said there was a lack of transparency by operators who tried to misdirect the commission.