Internet access remains the bedrock of any successful internet business, for now, we still have what I call “shadow broadband internet access” in Nigeria. I do understand that most of us try to get the best, affordable, and fast internet service in Nigeria. We have highlighted below prices of internet subscriptions in Nigeria. It’s in two segments; 1^st compares the ones offered by telecom operators (GSM) and then CDMA telecom operators. These services are targeted at small scale business to personal internet needs (we hope to do a comparison of corporate internet services).

I have tested virtually all of them and I can say categorically that they work fine for basic internet needs. Your location is also a pointer to whether you will get best coverage offered by these firms. In my own location, most times I get HSDPA and EVDO signals, these are real broadband (in Nigerian context)!

GSM Providers

The bone of contention has largely been the data-cap introduced by most of the service providers; most people (high-end users) are not very comfortable with that. In as much as I liked how fast there services are; I am usually put off by the data limits

They are also good for mobile internet access! The most reasonable of them all is the ones offered by Zain and Etisalat; 100mb per month at N1000. I have tried both services, I prefer Etisalat as its stable and fast. While Etisalat is a big minus if you go out of covered states, remains the best in states it is present e.g Lagos.

CDMA/EVDO Service providers

I was surprised to discover that Multilinks have data limits on their services. Their connection is fast and well priced compared to others but the data cap doesn’t cut it for me.

Starcomms is stable, fast and accessible! But it comes with a huge price compared to others; it is expensive but you get value for money! Recharging your plan is as simple as normal voice call recharge.

For Zoom, am waiting (hope not in vain) for when they will wake up from their slumber. I first used their internet service (1X) in  2006, best as at that time and quite a number of people troop onto the network then came the problem of scaling their service, they failed! For every installation you had to “Carry” your system to their office to install the software. Until recently, you have to go to their office to obtain internet card (which is different from the normal call cards unlike Starcomms) to recharge your network. I tried it out recently; it was very fast, apparently because they have lost all their customers to competitors. Their customer service is way below average; their staffs are always discussing unnecessary issues and will not attend to you timely! Are there customer service checks by NCC? Just asking!

Benefit of GSM networks

Imagine traveling to a remote place where you can only make calls? Well your Starcomms or multilinks may not be available in that village, but with the GSM service you will still be able to access internet but at snail speed! So if you are an interstate business person, consider using the GSM providers’ service.

If you are base in one of the top cities in the country where CDMA/EVDO operators are based and use the internet heavily, it makes business sense than the GSM networks.

Over to you, which internet service provider do you use and how reliable?