Safaricom new Unlimted Internet Data bundle is a big Crap…

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Yes, that was yesterday. Today we woke up to that good news …mmmh. Let me come to my mmmh later. Safaricom has introduced unlimited data bundle priced at Ksh.3000 per month and weekly unlimited data bundle at Ksh.1000. Users have been calling for the unlimted data bundle like for  years.  Good for them now!

I like the unlimited, the only question is how unlimited is unlimited.  Unlimited is only attractive with great speed. Once in a while my friends call me to ask where is the fastest cyber in Town, at that  point they don’t mind the price. What they want is the fastest place to finish their work and get out. ( One of the fastest cybers  is located in Norwich House 7th floor .The other one is  at Baclays Plaza Ground and at Nakumatt Lifestyle just on the main entrace past BookFast.)

So where is the problem with the new data bundles by Safaricom? Speed my friends speed. Both the Ksh 1,000 and 3,000 bundles will be throttled at 128 Kbps.  128kps….oooooh forget about it, i will stick with Orange at Ksh.950 unlimted per week translating to Ksh.4000 per month. By the way orange does not return the 50 bob change but that will be a post for another day.

Fast access to the internet is the main reason why most people have stuck with Safaricom despite their cunning “Terms and Conditions”. If you remove that speed , then you remain with a very expensive crap and who in the whole www want that in the new world of fiber optic?

Here the details for the bundles according safaricom.co.ke:

 Monthly Bundles

a)     Get a monthly bundle valid for thirty (30) days at 3,000/-

b)    To activate, send an SMS with the price to code 450. In this case, send 3000 to 450.

c)     You will be able to access mobile internet services for a period of thirty (30) days

 

Weekly Bundles

a)     Get a weekly bundle purchase valid for seven (7) days at KES 1,000/-

b)    To activate, send an SMS with the price to code 450. In this case, send 1000 to 450

c)     You will be able to access mobile internet services for a period of seven (7) days

Ok..the fight for unlimited data plan with great speed continues….Mr.Bob

Article Categories:
TECHNOLOGY

Comments

  • Kachwanya you beat me to this review :) but I’m wondering, have you tried it out? Does one actually get 128KBps throughput?

    startupkenya July 22, 2011 07:44
  • I’ll pay through the nose but only if its fast internet. Even if its 7k and I get my above 1MBps I’m fine with it. But nyong’aing my speed is just inhumane. 

    Comark July 22, 2011 08:18
  • Try it first before complaining. The problem with Kenyans is we are whiners.

    Blaze July 22, 2011 08:29
  • try Zuku

    kimutai koske July 22, 2011 12:00
  • Try it first before wining…how often do i hit 128kbps reading a newspaper, youtube videos or social networks??

    bernie July 22, 2011 14:13
  • This is straight to the days of  Dialup internet. You don’t need to test 128Kbps. Also you have to remember that all the internet companies never deliver the promised capacity. So here expect something close to 30kbps..believe me snail is better

    Kachwanya July 22, 2011 16:10
  • Mmmh before wining! Whatever that means.  I am a heavy user and that is the reason i why i go for unlimited..Believe me with 128kbps forget about Youtube to start with

    Kachwanya July 22, 2011 16:12
  • I agree..charge me whatever you want as long as you give me unlimted but fast internet. Thanks Comark

    Kachwanya July 22, 2011 16:14
  • oooooh Kenyans are whiners, just give them crap anyway…

    Kachwanya July 22, 2011 16:15
  • We whine, but then we don’t do much about it, we just continue using the crap we hate. The way we complain about food in a restaurant but still eat it anyway :-S

    David Alex July 22, 2011 17:54
  • Would you like some cheese with that wine?

    David Alex July 22, 2011 17:54
  • Before we wine, whine or cry foul/laugh happy[is that the opposite of cry foul?], anyone here tested the unlimited package physically? Is it consistent?

    Martin Gicheru July 23, 2011 06:53
  • Slashing the bandwidth is a new low for Safaricom, lower that the many conditions that come with their “offers”.

    Anyway, we all know the 128kbps sucks, another thing that sucks is that the bundles expire, that’s plain thievery. If the speeds were fast, I’d be the first in line for this.

    theonlinekenyan July 23, 2011 08:52
  • Surely Martin, do you have to test 128Kbps to know how it is?  If you were in Kenya during the days of dialup internet then you already know why we are complaining. And i will keep repeating the fact that no internet company deliver the promised capacity. They say 128Kbps and i bet you will get the average of 30Kbps… 

    Kachwanya July 23, 2011 10:36
  • “If the speeds were fast, I’d be the first in line for this.”
    Me toooooo

    Kachwanya July 23, 2011 10:37
  • Ok guys I am using the unlimited so said 128kbps internet and it pretty good. Let just face it….which other company has 3G right now…mmmh! non. Lets face it Airtel and Orange have been everyone’s hope but the time ticks so with no company to compare it with for consistent and reliable 3G I guess it ok.

    Anomus July 23, 2011 22:18
  • Here is my Orange speed test from some remote area. Far much better, more so when you look at it from the point that safaricom has promised 128Kbps and will not deliver exactly that

    Kachwanya July 23, 2011 23:20
  • You dumbass! 128kbps is equal to around 17KB/s
    Don’t think ur speed will be 128KB/s.. They are two very different units of download speed.

    DDD July 24, 2011 21:37
  • You dumbass! 128kbps is equal to around 17KB/s
    Don’t think ur speed will be 128KB/s.. They are two very different units of download speed.

    DDD July 24, 2011 21:38
  • mmmh smartass..your language pains me but you are right. I have said several times that  you will not get 128Kbps but something around 30kpbs..

    Kachwanya July 24, 2011 22:09
  • Just because someone has 3G, does not mean they will give you ‘3G Speeds’. A big dick does not mean good sex. it makes one just hope for it.

    Until Safaricom OPEN UP the bandwidth, all these bundle wars are just, like Kach the Man who they can’t catch puts it, ‘a big crap’!!

    Anonymous July 26, 2011 13:43
  • The opposite of cry foul is laugh penalty. Ask any Man Urinals fan.

    Anonymous July 26, 2011 13:44
  • I suggest we go beat up Bob. Right Alex?

    Blogging and educating people about it is ‘DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT’.

    Anonymous July 26, 2011 13:45
  • I use Zuku at Home. 4MBPs dedicated and assured for 4k per month. Plus Cable TV. Same price,

    Anonymous July 26, 2011 13:46
  • I get 4 Mbps at Home. Btw, how much is that in KPPS, ohh smart one?

    Anonymous July 26, 2011 13:47
  • Your speed is pretty good.
    Check mine that Safcom is currently offering… I hope they don’t cut it down but its great so far. Thanks for sharing.

    Anomus July 26, 2011 17:53
  • 128 kilobits per sec = 16 kilobytes per second
    8 bits = 1 byte

    N554 July 26, 2011 22:52
  • You bet this is not the unlimited package, right?

    @martingicheru July 27, 2011 06:15
  • Is this unlimited really? 

    Kachwanya July 27, 2011 06:24
  • Yes it is! Give it a try then let me know, if you can.

    Anomus July 27, 2011 22:18
  • well gauging by the browsing speed 128kbps, 3G has no impact whatsoever; Am going to stick with Orange. Airtels 3G signal is now appearing on my cell phone in Nairobi just waiting to see their unlimited 3G offer

    Tuvuti July 29, 2011 07:59
  • fuck safaricom this shit is a scam.am getting torrent download speeds of 20kbps while orange is giving me 180kbps for the same thing

    Steve Questa Mash August 3, 2011 21:35
  • fuck safaricom this shit is a scam.am getting torrent download speeds of 20kbps while orange is giving me 180kbps for the same thing

    Steve Questa Mash August 3, 2011 21:35
  • yea i suppose. bt its interesting how Safcom feels nothing ripping people off. I use Orange internet (since Zuku aint in my area yet) and when you find a nice spot where network peaks (usually an area about the same size as the modem) it gives some descent speeds 120kBps… capital B!

    David Alex August 8, 2011 16:53
  • fuck safcom

    Dj August 13, 2011 16:51
  • my torrent download with safaricom is 40 kbps but with orange at times 200 kbps. what a stupid way of safaricom upon introduction of a new product. they think we are desperate. orange is the best option when it comes to internet.

    Ndegwakenya August 14, 2011 00:37
  • The consensus so far is Safaricom unlimited torrent download speed ranges between 20kbps to 40kbps while Orange  unlimited torrent download speed is between 180kbps to 200kbps

    Anonymous August 15, 2011 09:02
  • With so many Seacom cables making their way across the country and with REPEATED calls from the state to make the Internet more affordable and available in the country, its sad to see that Safaricom continues to find newer ways to go backwards. Their current modems can carry upto 3.6Mbps and they throttle bandwidth to about 55kbps (downloads). Its a shame that the CCK continues to turn a blind eye as consumers continually hop in and out of providers looking for the fastest speeds. 
    When will Safaricom beta-test their ability to push out more than 3.6Mbps i.e. 7.2Mbps, how can they hope to assess the true load on their servers if they continue throttling? Personally I’m hoping Orange can roll out an Unlimited plan on that new 21Mbps service. You’ll know this has happened when Bob calls a meeting to state “how competitor pricing is spoiling the Data business by being unsustainable price wise.”
    This is actually quite sad because I actually like Safaricom – Unfortunately their cheeky and unconsumer friendly business antics keep pushing me away! 

    Fabian September 29, 2011 08:57
  • Safaricom are thieves….after downloading torrents sometimes up to speeds of 500kB/s for the first one week of unlimited bundle (after buying the E173 Modem), they have cut me down to 30kB/s….what a joke…but I punished them with 142GB download and 25GB upload…I need to move to Orange seems they are a bit honest….

    Mwangiky September 30, 2011 12:34
  • As of now,orange’s kenya offer for “unlimited internet” is capped at 500Mb..which is very low and an outright abuse of a consumers right.I discovered it too late.

    Greatkd October 4, 2011 08:18
  • this is a shame< ive been looking for a good internet for years, and so far the best option is orange, but its still too expensive on the 21mbps modem. im sitting in Dubai at the moment enjoying 42mbps on a modem which is spectacular compared to the crap we get in kenya. Did u know in malaysia they offer Velchip (ISP) offers speeds of 224mbps for 1.58$, this is why we cant compete in the technology industry because our government instead of making our country better they are tooo greedy.

    Hassan January 8, 2012 18:45
  • and thats 1.58$ a month

    Hassan January 8, 2012 18:47
  • if you want fast internet just use orange modem with VPN with speeds up to 10mbps i have been using this service over the past three years i download approximately 1.2TB a month am still works fine foe 2200/= a  month  if interested holla at me at [email protected]

    denmil March 2, 2015 18:47
  • @Hassan hello bro holla at me i think i can help you out with your internet problem you will be amazed just as long as you have an orange modem and windows 8 on your laptop

    denmil March 2, 2015 18:50
  • denmil HELLO THE vpn how do i get it

    francis2015 March 3, 2015 12:01
  • @Mwangiky  ha ha u the bad one

    francis2015 March 3, 2015 12:03
  • zuku in my opinion is the best option

    eugenen470 February 18, 2016 18:19
  • I have an orange modem and once i get past the f.u.p (friendly user policy)the speed is crap.please help me

    BruceEcurb March 9, 2016 16:25
  • denmil hae am peter i have an orange modem and my laptop is windows 8 please help me out

    pinchez053 March 12, 2016 17:25
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