It has been three months since my last post on my search for "a good, always online unlimited data, Internet connection at home" for no more than KES 4,000 a month.
Safaricom 3G Broadband Modem
I have settled for my interim solution, the prepay Safaricom 3G Broadband Modem (Huawei E1750). It works really well; I have a great 3G connection where I live 5 bars, which means there is a Safaricom cellular tower close by and there aren't many people connected to it for data. There is little downtime.
Good Speeds at an Affordable Rate
On October 28, 2010 I purchased the 3GB Bundle prepay data bundle for KES 4999.0 which was valid for 90 days. To date I have used 2.6GB which I realize is a low data volume useage but I only use the Internet link in the evenings, weekends and holidays. My wife and daughters are low data volume users or perhaps the current setup we have at home limits computer use; a laptop used at the dining table. This means I have used approximately KES 1,667 a month.
The Internet speeds vary from 0.5Mp/s to 2Mb/s which in my opinion is a great connection for what I need. Last Sunday I downloaded the Kaspersky internet security installation file (110MB) in less than 30 minutes!
The uptime is good, I would estimate at least 90% and it is great that I can carry the modem and use it anywhere there is a 3G or EDGE Safaricom network in Kenya.
Buying Data Bundles is Confusing
The confusing thing about the service is how to buy the data bundles. I am not sure if Safaricom is deliberately making it confusing or they are just doing a poor job with this. The purchase of data bundles on October 28 was made using 4 scratch cards of the KES 1,000 denomination, loading them to the telephone number for the modem and then sending an SMS to the respective code; in my case 451.
My wife had a few weeks earlier loaded the credit but did not sent an SMS resulting in her using the out of bundle rate of KES 8 per MB.
Today I reloaded the account to avoid losing the remaining balance as the expiry date is 26 January. I bought by credit for the Internet line through M-PESA, on my other phone. When I tried using the menu on the service;
I got the following SMS from Safaricom;
Now I realize I should have sent an SMS to 451 like I did the last time. I will be contacting Safaricom to clarify this.
That said I am thrilled that I can load the credit to my Internet phone account through M-PESA and the old bundle balance was carried forward.
Summary
If you can navigate the confusing data bundle purchasing and live in an area with great Safaricom 3G connectivity I highly recommend this service.
The other two Internet at home options that I was considering are;
Safaricom WiMax
Safaricom 3G Broadband Modem
I have settled for my interim solution, the prepay Safaricom 3G Broadband Modem (Huawei E1750). It works really well; I have a great 3G connection where I live 5 bars, which means there is a Safaricom cellular tower close by and there aren't many people connected to it for data. There is little downtime.
Good Speeds at an Affordable Rate
On October 28, 2010 I purchased the 3GB Bundle prepay data bundle for KES 4999.0 which was valid for 90 days. To date I have used 2.6GB which I realize is a low data volume useage but I only use the Internet link in the evenings, weekends and holidays. My wife and daughters are low data volume users or perhaps the current setup we have at home limits computer use; a laptop used at the dining table. This means I have used approximately KES 1,667 a month.
The Internet speeds vary from 0.5Mp/s to 2Mb/s which in my opinion is a great connection for what I need. Last Sunday I downloaded the Kaspersky internet security installation file (110MB) in less than 30 minutes!
The uptime is good, I would estimate at least 90% and it is great that I can carry the modem and use it anywhere there is a 3G or EDGE Safaricom network in Kenya.
Buying Data Bundles is Confusing
The confusing thing about the service is how to buy the data bundles. I am not sure if Safaricom is deliberately making it confusing or they are just doing a poor job with this. The purchase of data bundles on October 28 was made using 4 scratch cards of the KES 1,000 denomination, loading them to the telephone number for the modem and then sending an SMS to the respective code; in my case 451.
My wife had a few weeks earlier loaded the credit but did not sent an SMS resulting in her using the out of bundle rate of KES 8 per MB.
Today I reloaded the account to avoid losing the remaining balance as the expiry date is 26 January. I bought by credit for the Internet line through M-PESA, on my other phone. When I tried using the menu on the service;
I got the following SMS from Safaricom;
"Please send 100 for 30MB, 250 for 80MB, 499 for 200MB, 999 for 600MB, 1999 for 1.5 GB, 2499 for 2GB, 3999 for 4GB, 9999 for 20GB, 14999 for 30GB to 450"Without much thought I sent an SMS to 450 with the instructions 3,999. and received the following SMS;
"You have successfully purchased PROMO4GB data bundle for KES 3999.0 expiring on 2011-02-22"I was not amused that the expiry date is 22 February 2011. That is 30 days and not that 90 I expected to get! I am not sure if that is because I unintentionally signed up for the 100% More on Internet Browsing promotion :(
Now I realize I should have sent an SMS to 451 like I did the last time. I will be contacting Safaricom to clarify this.
That said I am thrilled that I can load the credit to my Internet phone account through M-PESA and the old bundle balance was carried forward.
Summary
If you can navigate the confusing data bundle purchasing and live in an area with great Safaricom 3G connectivity I highly recommend this service.
The other two Internet at home options that I was considering are;
Safaricom WiMax
The lowest Safaricom WiMax option, 1 Mb/s is too expensive at KES 5,999 a month. That said I was impressed by the quick response from the Safaricom staff when I emailed to ask about the service.
Zuku Fiber Optic
Zuku have been such a disappointment to correspond with. When I asked their sales staff at the shopping center they said they only will connect an entire apartment block; not just one unit. I gave up on this because of the complex ownership situation of the apartment block I live in. My landlady bought the house from the developers who still own a few empty apartments.
Then in late November I was thrilled to see Zuku technicians laying the fiber cable into the apartment block but that was short lived because there was no response to my emails and calls to Zuku this past week after corresponding via the new Zuku Twitter account I did receive a call but I was notified that the connection has still not been established.
No comments:
Post a Comment