Over the last five years, internet connectivity in Kenya has improved at an exponential rate thanks to the introduction of fiber network and the use of mobile internet. According to the World Internet Stats, Kenya’s internet connectivity as a percentage of the population stands at 47%, just behind Morocco (56%), Seychelles (50%), Egypt (50%) and South Africa (49%) in Africa.
Internet in Kenya has, for the longest time, been expensive and slow. In recent years, competition has helped in reducing the costs, especially since most internet users have been those who use data bundles on their phones or connect their computers to a modem. The introduction of the fiber cable solved two things that data bundles could not: Cost and speed!
There are several Internet service providers offering fiber cable internet but the cheapest has to be Zuku. For as low as Kshs. 999 per month, you can enjoy unlimited internet with speeds of up to 1 megabytes per second (1 Mbps) with Zuku fiber. The same amount will only get the average user enough data bundles to last three days. The ‘Jistart package’ comes with a wireless router on installation which enables one to connect various gadgets over the wi-fi. The package is already available in Umoja, Donholm, Tena, Pangani and Dagoretti.
Zuku Fiber also has other affordable packages. For Kshs. 4,300 per month, one can enjoy unlimited internet with speeds of upto 10 Mbps. Upon installation, one gets a wireless router, a high definition decorder (that enables one to enjoy over 100 channels of cable TV) and a telephone handset. Data bundles worth that much will only get the average user enough bundles for one and a half weeks with neither the cable TV nor telephone.
There are other packages depending on the user’s choice. For example, for Kshs. 3,000, one can get unlimited internet with 70 cable TV channels. One can also opt to get packages that have speeds of up to 20 Mbps or 50 Mbps.
Apart from the Zuku fiber being affordable, it has these exciting value added services. Two of them are the cable TV and telephone. The other awesome one is Wi-fi mobility across over 250 hotspots. This means that anyone with a Zuku account can access the internet at the various wi-fi hotspots. The hotspots are spread over Nairobi in different locations including Junction, Prestige, Java outlets, The Mall, Carnivore, South C, South B, Steers outlets, various buildings at the CBD and many more.
I managed to talk to a few people who have used both Zuku and data bundles, and they are very much satisfied with Zuku. They spend way less, and there is no worry that bundles will get finished in the middle of something important.
While data bundles spurred the internet growth in the early internet days in Kenya, it is the fiber cable that is currently the best option in terms of fast and affordable internet.
