Safaricom’s Uncapped WIMAX (SOHO) Internet Packages.
Safaricom has been given a lot of flak to-date for their speedy but pricey 3G bundles. As the only mobile network in Kenya (still) with 3G data, this is expected to be the case for at least another couple of months until such time both Zain Kenya (soon to become Airtel Kenya) and Orange Kenya get their 3G offerings to market.
Incidentally, Orange Kenya’s EVDO powered 3G+ Internet service is quite decent and their bundles give almost double the data for the the same price of what you would pay Safaricom for their 3G bundles – however, the big caveat is that its not always as fast (or as reliable) as experience has shown (at least in my case that is).
Anyway, back to the topic of this post. It recently came to my attention that Safaricom has been rolling out uncapped WIMAX Internet services in Nairobi. The services, based on pricing and bandwidth, are clearly aimed at both the Small Office Home Office (SOHO) and Residential markets. The roll-out, which is being done through third-party contractors also leverages Safaricom’s acquisition of several WIMAX companies over the last year or so.
The rates that I have for the Safaricom WIMAX Internet services are as follows:
- 512 Kbps (Internet only): Kes. 3,999.00 per month inclusive of taxes.
- 1Mbps (Internet, Domain Name and Web Site Hosting): Kes. 5,999.00 per month inclusive of taxes.
- 2Mbps (Internet, Domain Name and Web Site Hosting): Kes. 6,999.00 per month inclusive of taxes.
To note is that for all the above packages installation is free, as is the WIMAX receiver. In addition, installation is done within 3 days of sign-up which is a decent turnaround time (I have heard horror stories about Zuku’s installation times since they launched so Safaricom could win market share from them on this basis alone)
Going forward, Safaricom’s WIMAX offerings as above pits them squarely in competition with both AccessKenya and Zuku who both have been signing up a good number of customers for this market segment. What remains to be seen is how they will respond to the “green giant” that is Safaricom as they consolidate an even stronger Internet position beyond their 3G offerings.
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69 Comments
Its about time they brought slightly affordable internet to the masses but more still needs to be donr.
I called Safaricom customer care about this offer and they claim it is the same as the new “unlimited” speeds package.
They need to get their facts straight before rolling out new products in the market.
Has anyone tried the safcom wimax offer ? reviews ? given that it is safaricom i tend to assume that the service would be decent however there can always be exceptions.
Hi,
Ive been using this since they offered up the new (cheaper) SOHO options. Can’t fault it, its good value for money. download speed is a consistant 110K per sec (+/- 5K) since connected; and it runs 24/7.
My only concern is I need more storage capacity now. 4Tb is not enough )c:
Hi!
you can now refer more of your friends
WELL CALL me 0N JOAN 0724267609
FOR MORE DETAILS
You can try Safaricom cloud Solution. Call 0721516705.
I am with Access Kenya paying 4,600 for a 128k day time/256k night time/512k weekends wimax line, although it does not feel like it. May be time to switch.
What are the best choices out there at this time?
I used accesskenya for about a year and hated the day time night time plan. Switched to orange livebox and have been pleased with the services so far although i am now considering the safcom wimax offer. Access need to change and adapt fast or they will sink and fizzle out like swift.
am here to help
call om my no 0724267609
for more details
@ duncan that is seriously limiting you. . .try zuku. they have been decent with me so far and they are affordable.
.-= Mark´s last blog ..Zune vs iPod =-.
I recently started using the safaricom wimax offer and its pretty decent, although there were a couple of charges they leave out when marketing. For instance, for the 512kbps, which is 3,999 or rather 4000, they need a 50% deposit which is 2000, making it 6000.
They also require that you have a router which they dont include in their free equipment option, but they sell one to you for 6000, making the total cost to 12000.
@leo thanks for the clarifications on safaricom’s wimax offer – clearly there is more to the cost than advertised!
Leo,
What package are you on & how is the reliability?
Looking to switch from Orange Nyumbani (ADSL) which has been unreliable for me the last month or so & I see the 2Mbps package is the same as what I’m currently paying for 1Mbps.
I’m using the 512kbps offer. However for the home broadband offer, they only offer a shared line and not dedicated which is only available for the business solutions.
The use a contention ration of 1:8, but so far i haven’t had any problems with it, in fact i’m thinking of upgrading it to 1 mbps but i’m waiting to see if prices go down.
Mate – you dont need to buy a router.
If you have an old PC lying around that has two or more NICs, then use an opensource firewall.
I am using PFsence appliance for my connection. The radio needs to connect to a NIC (with its onw static IP).
BTW – my connection is running as a VM within my VDC.
mate, kindly enlighten me further on how to do this coz am reaaly thinking of trying out the saf wimax
hit me on kukamab@yahoo.com .regards
Hello everyone been using kdn wimax for last 3 months at good speeds up to 1 mbps until they restored everyone to their former bandwidth subscription….128 kbps…@6000 wanna change to safcom now…
so its true! aint tht a b***h! i was also using the 1mbps smoothly until like a month ago when the network got f##ked up! now im running on 256! im so changing to safcom!!!
Brian,why don’t you reach me on this number and we can discuss more about this safaricom new home package,0710723963.thanks
Thanks Tim. But already in touch with someone there.
Apparently Contention Ratio is 1:8. Seems I’ll be switching to Safaricom at the end of this month
@ Tim, Need the home package. Reach me on 020-2719800.
@ Tim, need the home package ASAP. Location ; Kitengela
have treid the service its awesome ..am using 1mb shared for 4 machines and laptops and its good for be …no outages at all..
Hi, i was reading the blog, can you please direct me to a person who can install this wimax service for me? my cell no 0723 703 622.
Really, wow ! this is all too much to handle!
I been working on something on Wimax for WAN with them and they’ve not mentioned a thing.
How guaranteed and dedicated is it ?
How come its not well advertised ?
And how come only residential not SME – Si pesa ni pesa? Its like like they targetting rich but light users, like Access@home.
What modem/router gadgets do they have for LAN connection?
Is it availble outside Nairobi? (ie wherever their Wimax base stations are?)
Ps answer quick ? Who can we talk to there ?
Ps call or Send contact to 0770-184786
Cheers !
I am interested to know the experiences of those with the Safaricom WiMax. The services offered by Access are no longer value for money, I must say.
why not just get Zuku for 4000 at 1Mbps?
After issues getting a good signal to a suitable base station, I’m finally connected. Speeds are good, goes up to even 1.15/1Mbps (down/up)
I have the 1mb Safaricom wimax since 16th September. It started well, then glitches which reminded me of past connections with dial up (Telkom)ISDN (Telkom), ADSL, then Orange @snail speed. Wimax is apparently independent from the voice GSM signal, the modem with bundles is connected to the GSM so higher voice users, lower speeds. I dont buy that, I very frequently had to revert to the modem and complete my work, as wimax at 6,000 a month did not even reach 0.19Mb download when tested with speedtest.net(which by the way, they recommended I use to check my speeds!) and had to wait very long for downloads. I have called repeatedly to complain, and I have been given at least 6 promises since September that someone will be over and check it out for me. Today is 14th November, not a peep squeak from any support! I have now threatened to cancel the agreement and look for something else equally bad but cheaper. One of the callers from support, had the audacity to tell me that the 1MB @6,000 a month was only @ 1 MB after 7pm….??? It is not mentioned anywhere in the contract, and when I ask the next person in Support, they tell me that is not so…?
I signed up for the 2Mb and the speed is crap. the told me it is a shared and my dedicated speed is 256Kb and increases to 2Mb in the evenings. I hardly get to 256Kb in the evenings leave alone daytime , plus the internet connection keeps dropping off.
I will wait until end month to see if there are any changes, then i’ll visit the guys in the corporate section and give them an earfull.
Hello. I got me a super slow orange 3g+ modem. It takes forever to load the google homepage and never to load facebook. Even after i turned off automatic windows updates the thing is still slow, i later tuned off, against my better judgement, the antivirus update there still was no change and to add insult to injury, trojans everwhere. waiting for the 1k 7 day internet to end then i am gonna throw the modem in the garbage can
Pole. I have one of those. It was a miserable experience.
I had the zuku 512kbps @ 2500 per month and although its always on and off when its on its OK. you’ll definately not get the 512 though. Had a terrible experience with their customer care. They simply dont care, they take like 3 to 4 days to send their tech guys when you are having issues. the last one has taken them since 24th dec till now to sort. Horrible service
If someone is enjoying good unlimited services for affordable rates drop me a text. 0733 360641
I think tangerine remains the most aforbale internet,I am on tangerine and the speeds are gud plus their customer care is on point,you could call one of their salesmen andrew 0720576518
sure,I am sure tangerine is superb.
can assist
Hey we also do Wimax installation guaranteed servce within 3days of signing up. Installation is free.
Safaricom Accredited Wimax Installers.
Call 0724441938 for more information
@ Njeri. how much is Tangerine price.
Thanks a lot moses.your site is surely the best site in terms of internet informtion in kenya.
i tried the safaricom soho and it was just great. Can you please tell me what you think about zuku fibre?
DUDE, ZUKU FIBRE IS UGLY. READ MY ANALYSIS BELOW.
I have a friend with a business near Oil Libya on Peponi Road. They bought an Orange LiveBox but the service craps out and now they don’t use it. They had Access Kenya come by and install their WiMax thingy, it worked well for a day or 2 and now NOTHING.
What base station is Safaricom using in this area?? Me thinks the problem is getting a reliable line-of-sight signal even though WiMax can bend.
So, if any1 can help out my friends, let me know. We told AK to come pick up their equipment. My contact got so annoyed she called the Managing Director’s wife, Petra, and complained.
As I’ve said before with Internet in Africa, the problem is INFRASTRUCTURE.
I’m from Canada, and they build data infrastructure intelligently instead of helter-skelter. Here, everyone’s digging up the road laying fibre but no one did a coherent large-scale plan. The government should own the infrastructure and lease it to providers like in South Korea. Actually, KPLC should use its infrastructure to lay more fibre. Oh well!
Question: Any1 know the outgoing server (smtp) for Safaricom’s WiMax service? Can u use your own server or does outgoing mail traffic gotta go thru them??
Safaricom’s 2mbps soho is quite good. You can call one of their representatives on 0721516705. By the way they also have dedicated bandwidths for corporate users. A bit expensive bt worthwhile.
ANYBODY NEEDS CLARIFICATIONS ON SAFARICOM WIMAX AND FIBRE CABLE SERVICES? CALL ME UP 0726387335.\WE ALSO DO STRUCTURED CABLING AND HOTSPOTS FOR HOMES /OFFICES/HOTELS/ETC
Can anyone tell me if wimax is available in Eastleigh? I will be in Kenya visiting my mother for a year and need reliable internet.
Thank you ………Ali
@ItsAli this service is still available from Safaricom I believe. Best to email them via their SafaricomBusiness section of their corporate web site as they can then advise?
Bro,
I have emailed several companies in Kenya and so far not a single reply. Customer service in Kenya is a foreign concept sadly. Any ideas? I just want to get good internet at reasonable price.
thanks for your help
If you want peace of mind please DON’T try Access Kenya
can i get safaricom wimax at muguga this is between kikuyu town and limuru town… im so close to a safaricom booster at kerwa shopping centre and modem is not doing well for a 10 computer business.. Please assist me through the above email as soon as possible..
@simon yes you can get it immediately once you are ready.call me on 0723752730
Hit me up if you want the Safaricom wimax connection re-installed for you. It is one service that works very well if managed properly and if installed well though Safaricom discontinued the product in the market.
My cell is 0726387335.
im in need of the safaricom wimax.i need to migrate from access kenya as they are business unfriendly.please what is the initial quotation for the installation and monthly subscription for the different bandwidth?we can communicate on 0723752730
I HAVE PUT MY CLIENTS ON ZUKU AND LET ME ADVISE ALL OF YOU SMALL TIME ISPs, if u wanna mess up your business, try zuku. ZUKU ACTUALLY CHEATS CLIENTS BY GIVING YOU SPEEDS THAT ARE ‘COACHED’. SPEEDTESTS TO EUROPE ARE AS LOW AS 0.17 FOR THEIR 4MBPS. WHILE LOCALLY YOU GET 3.5MBPS. WHICH MEANS YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO WORK WELL WITH REMOTE SERVERS.
WHAT IS WORSE IS THAT THEY THINK KENYANS WOULDN’T KNOW THIS. ZUKU SHLD CONCETRATE ON TV NOT DATA.
What about the new 3g SOHO router. Its black in color and has an antennae.
ive tried the 3g router and its pretty fine.but it supports a maximum of five computers-for better services.try it
Talk to me for details about Safaricom Internet.
Hi, I’ve been using the 1mbps from the saf since 2012 and the maximum speed I have for downloads is 128kbps, any clarifications or comments on this before I decide to migrate? its quite a loss if I feel like I’m being conned
@Samm911 have you conisdered Zuku or JTL’s Faiba? Definitely would deliver a better performance than what you have at the moment.
Conversion calculator.
Internet data is measured mostly i bits n not bytes.so 1mbs(MegaBit) is actually 1/8 of 1MBs(MegaByte) =128KBs(KiloBytes).
Always watch out for this technical jargons.Access Kenya screwed me up on that and i feel conned.
Which is the best connection for a cyber in rongai asap
@cliff I honestly do not know. However, perhaps check with Safaricom for rates?
hi pleased with your blog its very educative, am a student leader in kmtc college and i’ve been given the responsibility of sourcing for a wireless network provider kindly advice me on reliable networks and possible fast speeds and monthly charges. any input would be appreciated,
thanks.
@John thanks for your update. It depends what you need? Is this for home or office? How many users? Is Fiber an option? Where are you located? These are all factors to make good recommendations.
Hi Moses thanks for the information that you always give.Kindly help me know the best Internet connection for a Cyber of 10 users.
Am located Githuai Kimbo, i will appreciate your input
@alex try Safaricom or Faiba
Hi alex, we can provide you with a good connection to githurai kimbo. Our main base station is at the united states international university and our backbone is JTL faiba. Please contact 0717075298 for a site survey and quotation. Installation is within 24 hours of making payment.
Tangerine is the best in terms of wimax technology. Call Jacinta on
0700773808