Mar 02 2008
Safaricom 3G is here
Safcom have been on a test run of the service since they got the license a couple of months ago. The service is currently only available in parts of Nairobi with speeds of up to 3.6Mbit/s (The Business Daily article below says 3.6 MB/s!!!)
Its basically their bambanet offering (2,000/- for 700MB & 12.50 per MB after that) and if you’ve already got the Huawei modem, just head over to the safaricom website and grab the firmware update to get the new service.
Link. I’m shocked to see such a poorly written article up on the BD!
Hi there
tell us about the speed of internet access in Kenya.
It is one thing that is making us not relocate. We work on the net and prefer to work from home. Speed and always online is very important. but trying to call these support people has been a waste of time
can you give us more info.
Hey,
About speed, if money is not a problem and you’re willing to spend at least $1000 monthly then its as simple as calling up the vsat providers or going for one of the other business offerings around.
Otherwise, mostly what’s on offer for residential is 128Kb/s shared on which you’ll get ~40-64Kb/s average with no guarantees on uptime and some have download limits of about 3GB. Try calling netathome and wananchi.
I’m planning on doing a full review of what’s on offer currently and I should have it up on Friday/Saturday. Hopefully that will point you in the right direction.
With Safaricom 3G rollout, users will be treated to real broadband!
3G is more stable than GPRS and data dropouts are extremely rare. The bambanet modem is HSDPA is very reliable and you should get practical bandwidth of 1.8Mbps to approx 2Mbps even though by theory you should get 3.6Mbps.
3G alone cannot give you those speeds. Look for phones or modems that support HSDPA.
Experiencing 3G using the Bambanet (huawei E220 ) modem is truly amazing!
However, 3G is currently at selected places in Nairobi (including outskirts like Rongai) and Mombasa.
In other areas, EDGE is the norm and unfortunately from my experience, the modem fails miserably in other data networks other than 3G.There are several complaints from some users in EDGE areas.
Otherwise, I would recommend anyone to get the bambanet modem and experience 3G.
I think safcom introducing 3g is very great but i got a couple of questions. I’m planning to buy the nokia 5700 which supports 3g(UMTS). I waz wondering wether i’ll be able to use its 3g feature here in Kenya using Safcom’s ntwk. I live in Uthiru will i be able to get 3G there?
very impressed with the quick answers I got. That to be honest is a major weakness with the Kenyan businesses I have contacted.
Now in your report could you be more specific than the Kenyan sites I have seen?
I have gone to those safaricoms etc and the best they have is price. Price is not a judge of service, avalability and the 24 hr availability is not something to write about the net in 2008 as a selling point.
Speeds would be fine preferably in english. Not tech speak. How long to upload or download a pdf document. Or to make things easy for you, how long does the nation take to upload their videos on youtube.
Availability. Where is the service. I have no wish to work in Nairobi as I can’t stand traffic jams. Which are the areas that especially the 3g which everyone here seems to like?
If you wouldn’t mind , is there a way I can contact you via email ? You guys here seem to be good in this tech stuff.
thanks
places that I’ve experienced 3g:westlands,kinoo,south b,south c,rongai,upper hill,nairobi cbd,mombasa (mvita,tudor).
how long it takes to view nation youtube videos?! On 3g,watching youtube clips is like watching a telly!! The clip is long fully buffered before its over!
@masaaa: I decided against putting a post because of just that. I wasn’t going to add anything of value other than just collating price/speed info from the isp websites and their sales people. What is needed really is a place/website that does this and also incorporates feedback from the isp clients and a way for them to also rate the services they’re getting. In this way, people can make an informed choice based on what others have experienced. Work on this has already begun with the people form the skunkworks forum and I don’t see it taking too long to setup.
About safcom. Bernie is using it so the speeds and availability info he has is spot on.
I don’t mind being contacted offline at all, the email address is bgm at 69mb.org
bgm and bernie thanks again.
good to hear I may never need to see the cbd. I hate cities.
I will contact you about setting up such a site and it’s easy for me. I actually have one but put it on hold as I don’t have enough time to write about kenyan stuff . But I do have a great rating script and had wanted to do it for Kenyan businesses.
By the way, if you need help with your wordpress blog just tell me. I can see you already have an issue with your url’s
Do this very quickly as you might be losing google traffic because of your urls
1. Go to your admin back office
2. Click on Options
3. Click on permalinks
4. Change the radio button from default to custom
5. Add this to the space in the custom section /%postname%.html
6. Click update permalink structures
Now I can find you easier on google search from your topics.
If it doesn’t work, just tell me and I will help you but it should.
It was just a fluke I found you yet you have better info than other kenyan tech sites.
And that’s my good deed for the day.
Hey hey,
Thanks taking the time to leave a comment on my blog, bgm… I see that you commented on my article about using the e220 in Linux with Safaricom! In the article I forgot to mention that I only see speeds of 10 - 30 KB/sec where I am in Tala/Kangundo. I haven’t tested it in Nairobi yet.
It’s fine with me for now, as I only check e-mail and browse low-bandwidth sites. Sometimes I even browse in the command line with `links`. Also, the faster it goes the more money I’ll spend buying credit for it.
Ya know, I stopped by your website once when I googled for Safaricom, Linux, etc… I never read the comments, but it looks like there are a bunch of people in the area who do IT stuff… cool. I’ll stop by more often.
-Alan
http://alaninkenya.org
hey, i have been using the sony gc85 edge modem with celtel…it works ok but the connection breaks alot…due to heat… from the laptop as their customer svc reps explained..i want to switch to safaricom and use a razr v3xx which has 3g hsdpa but unfortunately saf-com does not have an unlimited dat plan like celtel..plus i live in kiambu where there is no 3g network..any ideas anyone? Thanks
You can still use the razr v3xx but you won’t enjoy 3G and HSDPA. However, you’ll still be able to connect to EDGE and to the internet…Also you may get some “spillover” 3G signals from Nairobi … By coincidence I do get spillover 3G signals in Rongai possibly due to existing 3G coverage in Nairobi West !!
With 3g u get both umts n hsdpa, im havin i560 samsung a hsdpa n n73 a umts, with 3g they use a separate network rather that gprs,edge that use the exitsting network with voice…and not many people do hav 3g or knw abt 3g yet.
i get umts speeds of 180-250kbps and hsdpa speeds of upto 2mbps, im in kariobangi south, by the way celtel are testing their 3g and you can lookout when the signal comes n use it 4 free, i also did so with safcom a few months ago…
Wassup y’all.
I was soo frustrated bout d shallowness of most kenyan tech sites that i was thinkin of startin my own but i guess u beat me 2 it ;). Your site is great btw, my new regular stopover.
I want to change my current isp to either celtel or safcom but nt yet 100% certain which one to. I heard celtel edge is gud but havnt tried it myself so if nyone has, gimme d speeds youve experienced or 69mb should review and compare safcom and celtel 3g and edge connections wats d. Wat r d speeds on safcom edge,, I like d safcom one but since im a download freak and watch alot of online videos, i think dat wud b rather expensvive for me.
One isp dat ive been satisfied with all along is webrunner.co.ke, really good service, link always up but rather expensive 64kbits/s @ 8k, bt ive been able 2 max it to 400kbits/s sometimes :p
Tell me wat u thinks guys…
how do i connect to safaricom GPRS.Please help
safcom 3G is gud but i hate the limits they put, i want unlimited downloads. hope celtel or telkom(orange) comes up with a gud offer and unlimited downloads
I hate safaricom for the most stupidest of reasons but very genuine…….firstly, come the weekend and the network goes on safari, ok maybe thats too harsh but lets face it, their services need to be really improved!! secondly their customer care numbers are ever busy and unanswered. thirdly i’d never in my most drunken state even think of paying a visit to a safaricom office for any damn sort of assistance. you all know the reasons and so do i.
perhaps i’m the only kenyan with an ounce of sense left in me to have never gotten myself a safaricom line but oh shit…guess what?? i bought their shares!!! Does that make me a lousy lazy bastard to have shares in a company whose line i have never purchased and make use of other kenyans ‘peculiar’ calling habits to rake in profits??? Or does that make me a parasite to feed on dividends in a company whose clients stands in 2km long queues and wait for a whole week to get a line activated?? you judge me but until or unless safaricom pulls up its socks, i’m not gonna use them. woe onto them if celtel carry on with their current service improvements, introduction of even lower tarrifs (face it, 65bob a day for unlimited cel-to-cel calls during peak hours beats safaricoms free service during offpeak hands down) and most importantly the entrance of econet!!!
Oh my celtel/kencel….i’m so glad that you exist even though you started off as being hopelessly expensive but atleast i dont have to go through this nonsense of not being able to get assistance as and when i need it.
Anyone have a clue as to when celtel will introduce 3G?? Their EDGE connection may not be breaking down but its pretty slow.
Kind rgds
Unlimited downloads? Such offers come with competition. Orange have muscle and loads of experience. Im sure crazy offers will surely hit the Kenyan market.
Saqib,
I dont forsee Celtel launching 3G in the near future for the simple reason that such an infrastructure requires huge amounts of investment. Celtel had better continue with increasing their subscriber numbers before making huge steps in data.With such low tarrifs, Im sure they’ll reach the business sense of investing in 3G(an extremely huge step) in the long run.
Ive been a safaricom subscriber since its inception and I still dont understand why people have to queue for their service. Kenyans are really peculiar if u ask me. 90% of all queries can be answered without spending long hours at the queue!
You are spot on the the sporadic nature of its network but I dont think anything network beats their 3G! Even KDN’s butterfly feels the pinch!
Btw you can get safcoms unlimited downloads/uploads if u get a blackberry on their postpaid. I had totally forgotten bout dat. I might just get it, dn use d blackberry as my laptops/pc 3g modem
Zak,
Correction. The unlimited internet can only be used on your blackberry device.This is because you use the blackberry.net APN which has been configured specifically for the blackberry service. Once you use it as a PC modem, you will have to dial-up using the normally charged Safaricom APN.
Try it! Not as free as you thought!
Forget about 3G and web. If u want fast and reliable internet,just find yourself a nice hotel with WIFI and crack their WEP key and voila free internet,reliable and unlimited. slow speeds though.
Whats the point of goin through all the trouble of crackin wep keys only to get unreliable internet and after consumin fuel n time just 2 get 2 d hotel/airport and not bein certain you’ll crack the wep. My main aim is 2 get d fastest and most reliable, available 24/7, net der is at a reasonable cost.
@bernie
I hav not tried it on d blackberry yet but on d nokia s40/s60 fons under modem options i can choose wateva apn i want my pc 2 connnect with. If i i dnt choose blackberry.net as my modems apn, i dnt believe it will revert back 2 safaricom once i connect usin my pc. I hop its d same with d blackberry…
Zak,
Interesting observation but again unfortunately it wont work. Of course you may change to any APN in any phone but:
The blackberry.net APN makes a direct connection to Blackberry service (RIM) at the UK via mobile operators (in this case Safaricom). At RIM (www.rim.net/) the device details are compared to the billing details,etc. Among these is a unique Blackberry PIN assigned and associated to blackberry devices only.Any other device would lack this PIN and hence not allowed to connect to the internet !
Hi,
webmaster@Safaricom.co.ke. does not seem to work so i used this link. i hope you will pass it on.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Dear Sir,
This afternoon I received a cell phone text message from +255 756 231 756 advising that I “Press *140*28*000254714510387# then press call button to get free hours &minutes, bonga-points special offer from safaricom the better option” (sic).
This being a Tanzanian number, I called and a man with a Kenyan “mtaa” accent answered in Swahili “Hapa ni Safaricom”.
He seemed worked up that I did not believe him and I hung up.
Please investigate because this number might empty subscribers’ M-PESA accounts.
Sincerely,
Antony, this issue was addressed in the local daily.The trick is a simple sambaza.Any of such messages should be forwarded via sms to 333 (free).The report will be investigated and action taken.Possibly, the numbers used within the text message will be blocked.
when are you guys rollin 3g in kisumu,we are waiting in earnest.