Kenyan Mobile service provider’s wars are not just about to end any time soon; Safaricom has launched the fastest internet data speed at 21Mbps on its superior 3G network from previous 7.2Mbps, on the other hand, Yu Essar has unveiled what seems to be the cheapest data charges in Kenya; subscribers will now enjoy cheap data rates at Kshs.2 per hour. We all reckon that instances of such fights have always been beneficial to the consumers, Safaricom currently boasts as the only 3G service provider in Kenya; however, it has been greatly affected by its pricing policy which is dear compared to other service providers in the country.
After Safaricom’s famous unveiling of Kshs.2 per minute data rate, Yu Essar now offers an incredibly cheaper Kshs.2 per hour browsing rate; although the two have different data transfer speed, Safaricom on 3G (HSPDA) platform while Yu on 2G (EDGE) platform I would confidently say checkmate to Safaricom. We are talking about mobile phones here fellows; Kshs.2 per minute from Safaricom best suits accessing internet on personal computers rather than mobile devices; I remember last time I tried using this tariff on my cell phone, I ended up regretting more of which I abandoned immediately and returned to my previous per bundle subscription rate.
On the other hand, I would strongly recommend Yu Essar’s Kshs.2 per hour data billing tariff on both mobile devices and personal computers. Mobile devices rarely consume large data bundles which make them suitable for per data bundle billing rates; however, Yu’s Kshs.2 per hour billing looks too good to ignore especially for downloads. Turning back on Safaricom’s new 21Mbps data speed, I am not sure the impact this development will have on current consumption of Safaricom data services; however, heavy data consumers are expected to benefit more than simple mobile phone users.
Apparently, Safaricom has upgraded its 80 base stations to offer data speed of up to 21Mbps within Nairobi covering Langata, Lavington, Upperhill, South C, South B, Westlands and parts of Industrial area; discriminative? Yes if you ask me. Before the official unveiling, Safaricom had tested the service over the past few weeks in the same regions to fix any loopholes that may frustrate their development. Before the upgrade, the average data speed of Safaricom subscribers stood between 700Kbps to 1.5Mbps with lucky users having up to 7.2Mbps data speed. To experience data speed of up to 21Mbps in the above named region in Nairobi, Safaricom subscribers will need to have data modems that support such speed on 3G network, it should also be clearly understood that 3G is a shared resource therefore data speed will vary depending on usage.