The Best Internet Option at Home
As working from home and homeschooling become the new norm, we are being pushed into a new world. There are so many things that will need to be adjusted in this new move and one of these things is internet connectivity. If you have to work or school from home you will need a good internet connection.
In the coming years, the internet will be a basic requirement. As a country, we are still far from this because even here in Nairobi internet coverage is still very low. Some people who will be forced to work from home for longer periods will be forced to move to areas where there is internet coverage.
I will begin by looking at some of the things to consider while choosing your internet provider and then I will give you a few internet providers who are out there.
What to consider
- Reliability: You need to determine how much you depend on the internet, what would it cost you if you didn’t have the internet.
- Location: No matter how much you need the internet, if you are in a location that doesn’t have the coverage you will not be helped. Some locations have very poor coverage and you need to check on this before spending money on any provider.
- Work Load: some people will heavily depend on the internet but whatever they are doing does not consume a lot of data. If you will be doing heavy downloading and uploading you will consume a lot of data. Many people in the same house with little usage will sum up to heavy usage. If you are more than two people in the same house depending on the internet your best bet would be unlimited data
- Speed: generally you don’t need a lot of speed at home. anything 5Mbps should be sufficient for your usage. It is okay to download a file for one hour instead of 2mins if the cost difference is significant. speed is not everything
- Cost: Depending on your reliability on the internet you will need to consider the cost that comes with it. the more reliable and fast the more expensive it will be. Cheap is not always good.
Available Options
Before I tell you of some of the available option , let me highlight some technologies that matter here.
Currently, the best internet you can get on your phone is 4G+ network, Safaricom is in the process of launching 5G but they have not done so. For you to use 4G you need to have a phone that is 4G enabled and also the sim card should be 4G enabled if your phone and sim card are 4G and you are not getting the 4G connection you are not in a 4G Zone and there is nothing you can do about it. If you have not replaced your sim card from 2015 you should do so to get 4G speed.
Most remote areas are using 3G+ network, in my experience this is very slow, sometimes you can even send an email
Other than mobile networks we also have wireless networks mostly powered by fiber, in Nairobi and most major towns the wireless network is the most stable and the provides offer unlimited internet. In some remote areas, there use a satellite network and it is somewhat slow.
- Safaricom Mobile data is always the best in terms of speed and reliability but it is expensive but they have wider coverage than the rest: dial *544# to check the costings
- Airtel: These guys are the cheapest and also good but if you are not within their coverage area it won’t help.
- Telcom: not bad but check coverage first, if you are out of Nairobi, forget about them
- Jamii Fibre: Very fast, reliable wide coverage. all you need is a sim card from Jamii and a phone that is compatible. it is available in most major towns. check this link for more info
- Zuku Home: unlimited internet from 2400 per month, check coverage before going too far
- Safaricom Fibre: unlimited internet from 2900 per month, check coverage before going too far
- Jamii Home: unlimited internet from 5000 per month, check coverage before going too far
- Haiwaya by Liquid: unlimited internet from 2800 per month, check coverage before going too far
This list is not exhaustive but it should give you a starting point
If your only option is mobile network and you do not want to use your phone. you can buy a 4G wireles router and put a sim card of your prefered mobile provider then load it with bundles and it can server up to 8 devices at the same time. You can get one on Jumia or you nearest shop.
Next week on Friday we will be looking at how businesses can enable their employees to work from home.