How to…..use GPRS in Kenya
Ok, let’s do some viral marketing for GPRS in Kenya…
The other day, I already blogged on GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) in Kenya and complained about Safaricom’s strange GPRS settings which were previously sent to my mobile phone. Of course I am way too complicated from time to time, hence the service never worked – for me – as I had put way too many settings. The whole installation process is quite simple though, hence this little “how to…” round-up on GPRS with Safaricom in Kenya as I also see lots of traffic on my blog on the Safaricom + GPRS issue.
First, let’s look at the current situation and conditions that made me look for an alternative way of accessing the internet: I am currently working at a GoK institution and helping these guys on some technical issues among scientific work (~ working on my final thesis in the water sector). Today we tried to upload an annual report to the HQ in Nairobi which was about 4 MB in size. Knowing that their Winnet webmail service (local ISP) only allows attachments of max. 2 MB, we spilt the file into two pieces and zipped both.
Now, going online from the rural side isn’t that easy – the traditional modem speed depends on the quality of the line (=> attenuation) and with our modern V.90 modem we only got speeds of 16,2 kBit/s – which is nothing of course. A frustrating speed and connection, as you’re charged about 7 Ksh. / minute – and being online doesn’t mean that you’re actually downloading or uploading anything. It just says you’re connected.
In Nairobi, there are many interesting and working alternatives. The cheapest and best alternative of course is the wireless lan at Nairobi’s Java Houses (+ really good food!) and, if you are lucky enough, an AccessKenya.com line via WLAN in your office. Then there are these upcoming CDMA (~UMTS) local networks which currently only work in Nbo and Telekom’s DSL line, although the latter ones raised their prices in August this year and also DSL isn’t as speedy as it used to be. Someone at the Telekom office in Westlands told me that their prices might change again in near future, but until then….you’ll still need a fixed telephone line, and I understand that those are still hard to come by in Kenya due to differenct technical, historical and vandalism reasons.
Which leaves us with the GSM mobile phones that many in Kenya have these days. The best part about these phones – I think – is the prepaid system: a perfect way for the service providers to receive money in advance and no one needs to worry about unpaid receipts. It will only be a matter of time until other sectors jump on the same wagon (Kenya power, water sector, etc).
Now, in order to go online with your phone, all you need is a wap browser which enables you to surf special (wap-enabled) websites. WAP is a rather old service which never really succeeded except for Japan (i-mode) where lots of services are based on this technology (but they are using a different frequency range and technology anyways so let’s ignore them).
In order to actually SURF the internet like my blog or google, yahoo, the BBC news, etc – you’ll need a GSM mobile phone with a (X)HTML enabled browser. Many modern telephones already have this. You can actually access your email by using the browser (“internet”) in your phone. A very convenient way of going online from whereever you are in Kenya with network coverage. GPRS isn’t really needed for this service, but it helps limiting the costs (as you are charged by MB downloaded) + increasing the speed (?).
And then of course there is GPRS for use with computers. This is the sexy part of it. As far as I am informed, there are three different ways of connecting phones to a computer:
a) via InfraRed
b) via Data Cables
c) via Bluetooth
If you are an owner/user of a notebook/laptop computer and also have Bluetooth and a phone that has this Bluetooth functionality, use this! It’s the most convenient way of putting it – also because there can be a distance of up to 10m (sometimes also more) between the computer and the phone. So if the network coverage is bad, just put your phone next to the window (where the receiption is better) and access it via Bluetooth from your computer.
InfraRed is very slow although it works (direct line of sight needed to hook it up with the computer) and then of course there are data cables.
You see, there are some GPRS enabled phones – but without any means to connect a data cable (unless you remove the battery, like on the older Nokia 6510, 8210 series, etc.). And data cables are sometimes hard to come by. Not every shop in Nbo (and of course not even Wachira Electronics here in Embu) sell those cables, even not those posh Nokia Shops @ Sarit Centre & Village Market. Or? Update: the data cable @ Nokia Sarit Centre costs Ksh 5500/=! A fake chinese copy goes for around 1200 /=….
Anyways. if you’re about to buy a new phone, make sure it comes with a data cable. Such a cable is also needed for downloading data content from the phone (pictuers, videos, etc.). I remember that e.g. Sony Ericsson phones already come with such a cable. I personally have all three connection types – the cable (from Ebay Germany @ EUR 4,-), an infrared port on my notebook and Bluetooth on both sides. Bluetooth USB dongles sell for about 10,- EUR in Europe – sijui about their prices here Update: Ksh. 1600/= in downtown, presumably less @ Mitsumi in Parklands. But then, the very popular Nokia 6020 phone here in Kenya does not have Bluetooth, so a cable is the best choice (called “CA-42″ (serial) or “DKU-5″ (serial-to-USB) for this particular Nokia 6020 – the one for 6230(i) is called “DKU-2″ (100% pure USB)).
Another alternative are these data cards (pc cards/pcmcia) that offer GPRS/EDGE technology and are used on laptop computers.
Ok, enough about the technical background, let’s start with the actual service:
In order to use GPRS with Safaricom, all you have to do (as a prepaid customer!!!) is to send an empty short message (SMS) to 4777. That’s it!
They will then shortly afterwards send you a confirmation sms and the settings for your GPRS capable (!) phone which you will be asked to save and activate using the following PIN: “1234“. Simple as that.
If the settings can’t be received for whatever reason, but your phone is able to do GPRS, then try the following settings for Safaricom:
APN: safaricom
username: saf
password: data
(hope i didn’t forget anything here..) UPDATE: kindly check the comments for more details, thx!
PLEASE NOTE:
- GPRS does not always work but it is more reliable and much faster than the traditional modem dial-up. And forget about Safaricom’s 951 dial-up as well as Celtel’s 350 dial-up. Those dial-up services are limited to 9,6 kbit/s, which is even worse than the modem thing via fixed lines. GPRS is instant access and once you click the button on your computer (e.g. Nokia PC Suite “connect to the internet”), you are online within 3 seconds and the connection is stable enough. Stable also means that sometimes it might be fast, and then the next moment it may become very slow. This is NORMAL with GPRS as bundled time slots are not always available.
- Costs, and that’s the best part about it, are ~ 10 Ksh (???) per MB ==> you are billed by the amount of data you have been loading (up & down!), and not the amount of time you have been online. THIS is why I am so fascinated by it. You only pay for the things you really wanted (except of course for junk mail in your mailbox, but that’s another story). A fair deal, I think.
- Connection speed is about 53,6 kBit/s MAXIUM depending on the network (quality) and the amount of users sharing the network at the same time.
- Safaricom’s mobile office website isn’t really THAT comprehensive as it doesn’t reveal many details on the service itself except for the usual marketing blabla. Someone @ the Daily Nation recently compiled an article on GPRS and all he/she did was copying the phrases from Safaricom’s online FAQ. These gals & guys @ SC really need to polish their website a bit.
- The more users are online and sharing one base station, the slower is the connection. Hence, telling others about this great service has the downside that it might eventually lower the speed. But in the meantime, let’s enjoy this service as a hassle-free, easy and convenient way to access the internet. And remember, I am typing these lines from my room here in Embu. GPRS + Inernet on your laptop might of course also work from within a National Park if there’s enought network coverage. Now that’s cool, ama?
- Skype works! And chatting via your prefered IM like YahooIM, MSN, ICQ, etc. doesn’t consume much bandwidth = low costs. Chat for 3hrs and only pay 30 – 50 bob. Now compare that with an internet/cyber café!
@Safaricom: how about some air time for this free-promo? My number is +254723436609 – Asante sana! :-)
p.s.: remember, I’ll work for bandwidth :-)
Ati? Safaricom? What’s this and this? Cooooooooooooooooooooooool. Really. M-Pesa? Like Hawala? Now THAT’s even more important than stable inet access. M-Banking is the next big thing.
@Mzeecedric: pole, I know it’s a long text although access is so simple. I just wanted to write down a few things that had been up in my mind. I so often meet ppl who spend a lot of money on fancy phones (~ going crazy for that video function for whatever dumb reason although they can’t even download the content from their phones) and then all they actually need is to access some things online and/or do online banking.
31. October, 2006 at 20:45
Excellent write up.
1. November, 2006 at 03:46
Beautiful info. Thanks for the follow-up of the questions I asked previously. I’m sold and will get the gf and myself setup soonish.
Just curious about 2 other points:
- software on your lappy. You mention “Nokia PC Suite” which I assume came on CD with your phone. But is that necessary? I use EDGE access on a HTC Wizard via T-Mobile (US), and just set up a normal dial-up networking connection thru XP. (Sorry for all the acronyms!) Wouldn’t that also be possible with Safaricom?
- I heard there is filtering/blocking of websites by Safaricom (probably p0rn, but if there’s some political foolishness going on…) – true/false? Not a show-stopper, as I’ve already suffered thru the horrors known as cybercafe internet surfing, but just wanna know what to expect.
1. November, 2006 at 09:36
Thank. Very timely article for me as I I have an old laptop but I want to see if it will work with an EDGE card from Safaricom or Celtel before decide if I will junk it.
Has anyone tried the Celtel service?
1. November, 2006 at 09:49
Hi & welcome back,
as for content blocking – I haven’t yet experienced any blocking but I guess that pr0n is blocked as well as the usual suspects (rotten.com & co). BoingBoing works perfectly well though.
There sure must be another way of establishing a connection to log onto the APN. I hesitated a lot before I eventually installed Nokia PC Suite (horrible software, but the latest version is a bit more stable – yes, comes shipped on a CD with the phone but the latest version is from Nokia.com). I think if EDGE works for you with T-Mobile, the same setup should also work with Safaricom – it doesn’t differ from other GPRS & EDGE networks. Which also includes that it sometimes doesn’t work – it is not 100% reliable (not even 90%), but at least you’re only charged for the actual traffic. Also, I would like to see that PDA/HTC Wizard thing in action here – should work just as well + postpaid customers can also get some Blackberry-styled service here (push email) for their PDAs. Costs around 35k ksh though…
1. November, 2006 at 13:19
Celtel GPRS i think might be even faster/more reliable than Safaricom’s
I see black berry’s coming soon too
Nokia PC suite has other utilities (of course for Nokia’s).
What I really can’t wait for is the 3.5G streaming service that is now under trial in some parts of westlands / UNEP area
Movies and the works.. Just imagine watching premier league soccer (the KFF one in the year 2100) while on the move.
1. November, 2006 at 15:14
tagged, saved, and very much appreciated!
1. November, 2006 at 18:26
Hey, your other post is raked third for the ’safaricom gprs’ keywords. Its only a matter of time before this post comes up first.
Man safaricom have to style up their site! In fact, the same applies for many other companies here, lots of eye candy and little of the stuff that matters.
2. November, 2006 at 05:15
Man, great post JKE. Talk about a really useful and timely article. Keep up the great work. You communication since you got back to Kenya has been stellar!
2. November, 2006 at 08:13
Thanks for the article. I did not know they offer gprs for prepaid customers. Moving to postpaid soon to save on the monthly fee (470 bob per month on Jambo tariff to 200 bob or so on advantage) I love that you only pay for what you use and that I can blog, chat and e-mail right from my SE P910. Brilliant!
3. November, 2006 at 15:09
The article is very interesting. I have been using the service for the past for days and it is just amazing! especially the cost issue. Access 350 for celltel and 951 for safaricom were just too costly
10. November, 2006 at 21:24
http://kikuyumoja.com/?p=880#comments
11. November, 2006 at 22:52
So for prepaid usage it is ksh 10/mb for EDGE on Safaricom with possibility of UMTS, no monthly/daily/access fee?
Since Celtel seems to be asking 20 ksh /MB, is there any reason to use their service?
18. December, 2006 at 17:27
Great blog post dude!
Stay tuned as we will soon be selling some USB and PCMCIA EDGE/GPRS combo wireless modems so you can connect your desktop or laptop to the Net – fast!!
And they’ll be waay cheaper than anything you can buy on the continent.
Keep up the great posts.
30. December, 2006 at 14:21
I have already unlocked some 100 pcs and sold them in kenya they work so well i am looking for interested parties we can do both wifi and promoting the blackberry eapecialy 7100 model and 8100 pearl
cantact me by sms 254722520083
27. February, 2007 at 13:30
What happened to your older post about GPRS? It seems to have vanished from your site. Maybe I’m hallucinating but I’m sure I got the details of how to get my old K700i working from some comments in a post on your blog…
8. March, 2007 at 16:26
Haya! Umeni furahisha, believe it or not: you have just perked my spirits up after a rough day today. Thanks for this great guideline in simple English on how to hook up on the internet with Safaricom. What the latest – should we go for Celtel or Safaricom? My friend has persuaded me to move from Af OL to sc. But I’d like to be sure.
20. March, 2007 at 04:50
[...] Safaricom, he pays 10 Ksh per Megabyte, or 17¢. Fido charges 5¢ per kilobyte, or 51.20$ per Megabyte. Or, 300 times [...]
21. March, 2007 at 15:20
am having a problem using adial up connection using cdma phone wiht my laptop toshiba tecra a8 once you start dialing on the phone the laptop hangs what could be the issue. since if i use my desktp comp it possible to dial usng the same
24. March, 2007 at 10:03
please send settings for nokia 2610 for activating GPRS
9. April, 2007 at 15:35
hi there! i use nokia 3230 with celtel but i want to use the gprs internet to my laptop throught my phone but i dont know how. please can somebody help me on that. and am in Tanzania
11. April, 2007 at 09:27
hey have you tried the EDGE service? the safcom guys say it ll work automatically if you get to an edge enabled area and you’ve got an enabled phone i dontt see much difference anywhere ive gone. it all seems to remain at around the steady rate (50kbps ) if you get ant advice on the EDGE cpabilities just blog it i would definitely love to enjoy the 128kbps rate .
ps ; if the EDGE settings have to be setup any diffrerently just inform me im totally tired of the slow rates during downoads
22. April, 2007 at 14:38
The safaricom website needs more on gprs.edge settings, I am trying to connect a samsung x820 to gprs but it seems not to be working
3. May, 2007 at 11:09
how do i connect my nokia 6600 to the internet
9. May, 2007 at 17:27
I just came across this site n I love your technical qizes n replies. I like computing too as well as Networking/Interneting. Maybe next time I’ll post a Quiz or a comment regarding a Quiz. Keep it up all of you, Thumbs Up!
11. May, 2007 at 16:14
i have a samsung d900…i managed to get it connected to the internet by messing around with the settings but i cant download any large file…for all y’all out there, http://www.getjar.com or wap.getjar.com is a cool site for abundant cool mobile downloads…somebody help!!!!!!!!!!!!how can i download large files without getting an error????
11. May, 2007 at 16:19
Rocko, try using a download manager which has a “resume download” function.
I managed to download a 16 mb file via gprs the other day and despite of credit running out, it just worked.
12. May, 2007 at 10:38
Much appreciated…will try that :)
12. May, 2007 at 11:35
hey kikuyumoja…ok…tried to search for a download manager but in vain…pls send me the link…cheers
12. May, 2007 at 11:51
Here’s a list of download managers, and if you’re using Firefox & MSWindows, I’d recommend using FlashGet with a plugin for the Firefox browser.
@Wambui: if there’s no OverTheAir (OTA) service for your Nokia, ask Safaricom in Nbo.
@others with similar questions: not all phones offer GPRS services. And even if they have, it doesn’t automatically mean that you can actually connect your phone to a computer as the appropriate interface is missing (bluetooth, cable, infra-red).
29. May, 2007 at 10:44
Guys … go to the safaricom site http://www.safaricom.co.ke under services go to gprs and there u will find some useful information
For those of you with nokia phones e.g. wambui… your in sheer luck. simply go to http://www.nokia.com/phonesettings and fill in some info and voila!! u will get the settings sent to you
Bumzo
”I consult coz i know and you dont know”
29. May, 2007 at 12:54
Bumzo, as of writing this, Safcom’s website is offline. Is there anything we don’t know?
22. June, 2007 at 16:45
they are back up now, try it.
Let me know if u need any help in SAFARICOM OR CELTEL gprs connectivity. Its what i do best
8. July, 2007 at 11:36
hi im korir and its proven hard for me to connect my handset[siemens mc60]to safaricom gprs.would you mind assisting m
e.my no is 0721489853.
thanks for your great stuff
15. August, 2007 at 10:42
i have the same phone siemens mc60 with same problem and no response from 4777
24. August, 2007 at 14:28
does celtel gprs connection work
30. August, 2007 at 23:50
thanks to you I finally got my gprs activated. those morons at SC dont even answer when i call 100. their service basically sucks but its cheap compared to celtel. thanks again!
3. September, 2007 at 08:49
i always try to follow all the configuration you give to me but have not got my phone back to gprs i.e nokia 2610. the main problem is that when i try access it always request for packet data connection please help.
steve 0723747962
10. September, 2007 at 08:13
plz help me get gprs settings in my benq siemens c81 phone
stanley 0724307983
3. October, 2007 at 09:46
iv got an SE p910i and i cant hook up GPRS settings!!! and the bloody thing is greyed out of SC’s website! that site soooo sux! help bana!
28. November, 2007 at 15:07
Nice writeup.But the problem i have is am a motoL7 but everytime i try conneting to my phone it gives an error message and i also cant check my mail by fone coz it’s an error message that i cant be connected coz of software compatibility
22. December, 2007 at 13:13
Hi,
Kindly send me the settings of Samsung E250.
Thanks for the Knowledge.
Regards.
9. January, 2008 at 07:46
Hey, ur site is really helpful especiall for people using nokia. But sony ericsson settings are more sophisticated. They require even an i.p. Please help
30. January, 2008 at 13:10
GPRS, Edge….Try 3G(UMTS). With appropriate gear you could be surfing even faster than on Edge. The other day i recorded a blistering 200kbs download speed though i admit it was off peak
3. February, 2008 at 11:03
iave black berry mobile so it’s problem abuot operting here in nairobi so i need more infromation about you location in nairibi
4. February, 2008 at 14:15
Brilliant
You have really exploited the service (Safaricom GPRS) Let me add a few points :
GPRS (Global Packet Radio Service) will ONLY charge you for the bytes you use…i.e. if you log on say to http://www.safaricom.com and stay on that page the whole day, it wont cost you nothing but as you browse pages…images and text are loaded to the browser and that act of download reflection your bill. So here is a small catch :-
The bigger your screen .. the more bytes required to download and fill up your browser page hence the more you are charged. In short, you will notice you are charged less when you brown on your hand set that on your laptop or that great 19” tft screen!!
here are afew tips on getting the best from gprs
1. Never browse graphical sites that have alot of pictures (Sorry porn lovers but this consumes alot of credit)
2. Adjust your cache settings and try not to clear them too often…when you browse, instead of downloading images, your browser will pick them up from the cache
3.POP mails using outlook as opposed of accessing them on the webmail interface (e.g. gmail has an option to pop emails with outlook express as opposed to yahoo who CHARGE for poping mails)
4. Newer phones that have ‘’symbian OS” support XHTML browsers such as opera mini which is like the real browser but browsing cost is minimal…say abt 30/- for one hour of browsing. In fact your battery goes down faster than airtime. Here am talking abt the new Nokias N and E series and any nokia that comes with a data cable
Samsung fones generally have connectivity issues and thats a known fact. Nokia are easy to use and you can manually download wap settings from the net. (nokia site) the N and E series comes with pre set nokia GPRS settings which don’t work. you have to call customer service for them to forcefully push the settings to your handset
5. When browsing using your computer, disable background services such as automatic uptades and software updates. they will consume airtime too
Celtel have a more reliable and faster GPRS connection but this is ata fee…they charge 20/- as opposed to 10/- (safaricom) per megabite
here are the settings you need to put on your handset connection settings
Dial In Number = *99***# (*99#)
Username : Web
Password : Web
AT+CGDCONT=1,”IP”, “web.safaricom.com” (AT+CGDCONT=1,”IP”, “ke.celtel.com”)
at+CGDCONT=1,”ip”, “safaricom”
where the numbers in brackets are for celtel
I have tested the 3G edge gprs but i sincerely dont see a difference with speeds. This is how safaricom works; they give priority to voice over data, meaning when there is a network congestion data sped dwindle, in short you are better off browsing and on faster speed on Sunday at midnight than trying to send a crucial mail on friday at 5pm!!!!
There are other services you can harness from ur fone. EG access kenya and KDN float alot of wireless LANS (WLAN) all over Nairobi CBD. Witha nokia N series or The E65, you can actually browse via WLAN or even connect to your office network and for FREE at java houses
Anyone who wants data services, network or internet connectivity please contact me on bnganga@gmail.com. Am an I.T consultant specializing with communications and give office connection solutions.
4. February, 2008 at 18:11
Thx for the update Bernard! And guys, pls remember I posted this over a year ago and since then the Safcom website hasnt really improved…sigh.
What about 3G and 3.5G networks in Kenya these days? What kind of phones does one require for that? Will my Nokia N95-1 for on that?
1. March, 2008 at 19:32
can someone tell me where i can really find the software for benq siemens e61
11. March, 2008 at 11:00
i’ve been trying to install mig33 and miniopera on a nokia 2610. i currently can surf with safaricom’s gprs. but i wanted to add a second gprs setting on it , where i can use my chatting applications. it didnt work. sending a blank SMS to 477 doesnt give me any reply. is there another way of adding the chatting facilities on this phone? or any help to my probs? help!
19. March, 2008 at 09:53
I got the new nckia n95 but wit no gprs settings would u mind helping me out
19. March, 2008 at 09:54
thanks 4 all the info bt how come when i use my motorola l6i and then go to internet connection with my pc it refuses het when i surf with the phone it is perfectly ok?
20. March, 2008 at 19:26
@NashM: sijui if the Nokia 2610 supports more than one setting
@nickie: try nokia.com or go to a service center of your local provider where they’ll give you the settings. u could even try those from above and manually entering them under systems>settings> etc. “add new”..
@Chris: your PC may have some proxy settings or a fixed IP address set for the inet access so that it doesnt accept your Motorola connection. Try to disable all IP addresses and/or set them to DHCP.
24. March, 2008 at 21:20
hi!Luv ur site.Its really helpful.However i cant find safaricom email settings for samsung e250.Could u pls tell me.especially the dns numbers?
25. March, 2008 at 16:03
Very good infor.Keep up the cool job all you guys.Kudos!
27. March, 2008 at 11:23
Hi could anyone help me of how to access the internet using my motorola l6i modem. Sure, the gprs in the phone read that is ACTIVE but how do i set through my computer to access the internet through it? ….. setting my computer so i can access through phone modem via my computer!! liz somebody help me. I can be reached through cell phone no. 0720707277
14. April, 2008 at 10:17
u huv very informative articles but they would be perfect if u had graphics for the slow ones like me. Nway, u helped quite a bit!
14. April, 2008 at 15:09
Hi
I’m visiting Kenya from South Africa. My roaming is working fine for voice calls but none of my data services on my phone and on my Vodacom/Vodafone 3G card are working. I’ve tried all the GPRS phone settings, and even bought a safaricom SIM. I’ve sent a blank sms to 4777 but no reply. Am I missing something? I’m using the Nokia N95.
Any advice on my 3G card?
Great blog!
14. April, 2008 at 15:43
Sam, I think in your case it would be best to go to a Safaricom customer centre in the CBD or Westlands and ask for the settings.
Afaik, the N95 automatically reads these settings from the SIM card , so it should just be plug&play with it.
17. April, 2008 at 11:24
for N95 nokia with safaricom sim, you have to activite you sim to gprs service by calling costomer care(#100).they will send gprs setting to your phone. your will turn off your phone for few seconds.It is very hard getting safaricom costomer care so you have to keep on trying.
17. April, 2008 at 11:47
hi dennis kiogora.That confg should be easy.But what do you have,cable or bluetooth.L6i mottorola comes with usb cable and mottorola phone tool cd.First install your cd to your pc then plug your phone to your pc using your usb cable.the phone drivers will be installed including moderm.After that your phone will appear in the desktop.right click connect then create new connection,select kenya as country then it will automatically select safaricom,change it to others.APN should be safaricom,USER NAME saf, PASSWORD data.If it will need dialing No. use *99# or*99***1#.the rest of the setting click next untill finish witout changing anything.Now you should be good kiogora
17. April, 2008 at 12:01
Fonex DNS stand for Domain Name Server.E250 samsung is allitle bit tricky when it come to internate settings,but if you fill the IP,USER NAME,PASSWORD,APN right you will be on the right track.this link will help to learn about DNShttp://www.howstuffworks.com/dns.htm.But of settings for safaricom user should be:IP 172.022.002.038, USERNAME saf, PASSWORD data, APN safaricom.
2. May, 2008 at 18:35
people with pamoja tariff on celtel its kshs.10per mb…safaricom its kshs.12.50 per mb not kshs. 10 as stated here…and safaricom gprs is a headache if you are in nairobis eastlands as far is i knw even the 3g signal is available late in the night at 11
2. May, 2008 at 18:38
with celtel you get an unlimited access and safaricom has disconnections during the day…ive tried contacting safaricom since june 2007 but they cant be of any help. as everytime they tell me to visit their offices and upto now its still back to square 1.
2. May, 2008 at 18:43
With celtel internet you get upto 20kbps max and with celtel wap it gave me and outstanding 130kbps at night and 49kbps during the day over the edge network…with safaricom even the 3g gave me a poor 200kbps at 12 midnight…
2. May, 2008 at 18:48
The safaricom gprs made me to change in between 10 phones btw 2007 and 2008 january…just because i was in entire need to use their ‘cheap gprs’ at that time but not anymore…now i have this huge i560 samsung and nokia n82 and still its a saf gprs…
2. May, 2008 at 18:53
And after iphone, symbian have the best browsers and still the safaricom gprs is a hard nut to crack. all the way in these hugely populated areas of pipeline, umoja, donholm, buruburu, makadara, kariobangi, dandora, and the rest…
2. May, 2008 at 18:56
i just hope celtel gets their 3g up and working soon because with safaricom i have had enough with their ‘congestion’ thing being their only explanation…thanks for a great site…in my slang i should shorten ur name to KIUK! cool…hey! thanx again.
21. May, 2008 at 20:27
Please help in connecting my phone to GPRS services.I received some messages saying that my phone has been connected to GPRS.But afterward I tried to apply it but unfortunitly it never worked.It reads ‘GPRS connections not available’Please help.
27. May, 2008 at 11:01
Which phone are u having nduati? and i would advise you not to use safaricom…i did hav many troubles with saf gprs…get celtel…if u hav a samsung phone contact me…deewinc@yahoo.com
30. June, 2008 at 15:46
Can someone tell me the cost of Celtel GPRS? I want to go with unlimited access, I hope it is possible only for post paid customers.
I was told by an agent the following:
USB Modem 6,000 Ksh
Deposit 2,000 Ksh
Monthly Fee 3,000 Ksh
Is this correct pricing?
5. July, 2008 at 23:02
deposit 5000..,modem 5995..,monthly 2999…
11. July, 2008 at 08:12
Hi all. To get safcom settings send msg “gprs” to 445 and for celtel send msg “all” to 232. Both will send gprs, wap and mms settings to your phone. But you still have to have your line data enabled. You can call customer care and ask them to enable your line or line up at their centres. Safaricom have reduced their charges to 8 bob per mb while celtel is 16 bob per mb. I’m on safcom and actually browsing this site using my phone and miniopera. The connection which is quite fast actually works most of the time. The only problem is that i can’t use the yahoo go application. I think safcom have blocked it probably coz they want guys to sign up for google mail. I asked them why and I haven’t received a reply.
12. July, 2008 at 05:40
just stumble on ur site but how can i get it to work in nigeria using, glo,mtn,and celtel network.
12. July, 2008 at 06:20
can anyone help, icant afford to pay for browsing now so i would be flad if i get how to brows free using gprs or any other options
hope i get some help
thanks
16. July, 2008 at 09:24
yvonne celtel charges gprs at 10 per mb not 16 but if u on pamoja tarrif…safcom was 12.50 now its 8.00 per mb thats true..,yep yahoo isnt working with safaricom…but data bundles idea is bull! why not hav it unlimited like celtel? 3000per month..,
16. July, 2008 at 09:29
With 3000 u get unlimited internet use per month on celtel.,but safcom u get 1gb of data..,wen u reach ur max 1gb.,its over pay now at an extra 8bob per mb.,or buy another bundle..,thats crap!
16. July, 2008 at 09:46
The speeds are at near par with 3g umts that safcom had b4…at around 120kbps download speeds minimum…may be because celtel has fewer customers…
16. July, 2008 at 09:48
The speeds are at near par with 3g umts that safcom had b4…at around 120kbps download speeds minimum…may be because celtel has fewer customers….
16. July, 2008 at 12:59
I have tried safaricom & Telkom and i find Telkom the best..save for the credit you have to keep loading if they introduce a flat rate all will move to Telkom.
Be careful when buying the safaricom offer i got a raw deal recently they told me for 3k i get a modem, they did not tell me about the speed, it was so slow i had to dump it the same day! when i went back they told me to buy the one for 12k which has speed ..total bullshit
we need a third operator
16. July, 2008 at 13:43
I have read y’all criticisms in detail, Now i respond :)
I do alot of GPRS setups on both safaricom / celtel huawei modems as well as 3g/EDGE enabled phones, HSD ,etc and all those fancy technological inclined terms that make you believe you are harnessing the most from GPRS. I will break it down for you
Look at it this way. Lets take safaricom and celtel to be plumbing companies and Internet data flow as ”water” and ofcourse you be the end user.
Now this plumber come with all sorts of offers of how the water will get to your taps (modems). They tell you stuff like elastic pipes to allow more water, inclined pipes to allow faster water throughput, internally smooth walled pipes to curb any resistance to your tap …etc, you get my drift. They will even go as far as telling you our pipes are THREE times bigger than out competitor and they are plastic meaning they can bend to any corner you want water to burst out from and true if you look at the pipes they are ductile, large, in fancy branded colors. Nice pipes, Good on them.
NOW!!!, they have sold you the pipes and sure they fit right and working great, what they haven’t told you is just how much water is going to come through this state-of-the-art the pipes, (data throughput) …. Remember this is a ”piping company” not the actual ”water company” …so the pipe suppliers still have to go back to the water company (who is the only source of water) and buy whatever liters of water they can buy and push through their pipes.
Enough of water world, back to the data world. You will notice when you connect to safaricom 3G GPRS, you get something like ”you are now connected at a cool 7.2Mbps” yet the ordinary EDGE which celtel adopts gives you a 436Kbps Connection. So you think, bravo safaricom, aluta (data) continua. This speeds is the speeds between safaricom hse or park place in the case of celtel (Zain Group) where (i believe)the servers are hosted and YOU. a.k.a your machine. But ask your self, where are this GSM’s tapping the internet from to push it at 7.2mbps / 436kbps to your computer?
Two, lets not forget, safaricom is tapping from the same well (internet pool) to supply its 8Million subscribers while Celtel is tapping from the same pool to provide to its 2 Million subscribers. This explains why the two tend to have the same speeds. Actually, celtel was much superior in data services until it went public with their 3k unlimited bundle and everyone rushed for the service thus slow internet connectivity now.
GSM partner with PDNO’s and ISPs to buy band with and push it to you (the end user). This bandwith is traced back to jambonet the final gateway of all of Kenyas data (upload mostly). So this brings me back to the final post i read where one compares telkoms speeds to be faster than GSMs’. This is tried tested and true. Reason? they are the ‘Water company’ and ‘plumbing/pipes’ company. meaning they dip the pipe directly into the water pool and extend the same pipe directly to you, thus less water loss, unlike GSMs’ who have to suck the water into their refinery 1st then serve you.
So for as long as we dont know (publicly) how much water is being sourced (bandwith) at the back of the kitchen or how big the containing tanks are, Connectivity between the two GSMs is stil at PAR despit what your two lil’ computers on your bottom right of the task manager display :)
Bernard Ng’ang’a
ICT Communications Consultant
Ace Concepts
bernard@aceconcepts.co.ke
16. July, 2008 at 15:43
100% F.ACK., Bernard!
17. July, 2008 at 13:13
hey mr. plumber., i hav a celtel edge modem.,i get at minimum 120 kbps.,that suits me n my downloads…but what safcom are charging its crap!!! that bundle can end up in minutes coz of the hsdpa..,and u have to buy another bundle? ah! ah!
17. July, 2008 at 13:17
one thing u dont knw mr. benard…on every 1bob spent by safcom.,they gain back 0.78cents as compared to celtels return of 0.25cents on every shilling spent!!! CELTEL DONT CHANGE TO ZAIN…COZ CELTEL IS A GREAT NAME…
17. July, 2008 at 21:16
I got a celtel huawei modem today and it is very slow in Kilimani area.
Any suggestion / help please?
18. July, 2008 at 08:01
Ahamed is it a gprs or edge modem? i expect that with a gprs modem..,but get a modem booster like tweaknow…that should help.,
1. September, 2008 at 12:03
@Yvonne (11. July, 2008 at 08:12), Thanks you gave me the most helpful hint. Actually safaricom shifted from 4777 to 445 lately for GPRS/MMS and WAP.
26. October, 2008 at 14:11
Hi,thanks to kikuyumoja 4 this highly informative site.Im using a sony ericsson p990i and a nokia 3230 on safcom and zain respectively,but,my wife’s samsung e250 just wont access neither.Deewinc said he could do sumpin’. Hey, how about it Dee?
16. April, 2009 at 14:30
Dear Readers,
pls note that there also is a new Wiki on mobile data in Africa where we are trying to compile costs, technical HOW-TOs and other useful data on the telecommunications sector. The wiki may be found at:
http://africansignals.com
If you know how to set up your phone or USB modem in order to get online and would like to share this knowledge (like I’ve done with this initial post in Oct. 2006), please feel free to have a look at http://africansignals.com and contribute there. Thank you!
30. June, 2009 at 23:45
i have found that the software on the dongle thing that safaricom sell sucks big and that the latest nokia pc suite is much better if like me you have a n95 or similar phone then just plug it in with the safaricom card and away you go you dont have to do anything other then just register your phone with you laptop.
i had to fix my laptop using torrents as im on holiday here in kenya visiting family from the UK and using the satellite internet is giving me a headache
5. July, 2009 at 01:57
I have 24 blackberry 8700c phones that I got from the states. Any idea how much they will sell in Kenya. They are used phones but working well.
Is it true that Safaricom has unlimited internet usage for ksh 2000 per month?
Is it easy to setup unlocked blackberrys in Kenya especially the 8700 model?
Please let me know. Thanks
26. July, 2009 at 21:21
ITS TIME THAT YOU GOT PAID FOR USING THE INTERNET..MAKE AS MUCH AS $5.00 in 30 minutes in a new online community like FACEBOOK! WHY FACEBOOK& waste your money? get paid here! EMAIL ME @ deewinc@yahoo.com
10. September, 2009 at 08:26
Hi,
Is it true that China made phones(Techno for that matter)do not accept Safaricoms GPRS settings.
thanx
10. September, 2009 at 15:27
@ moss chesro. I don’t think China made phones accept any settings. My mum owns two of them, different models, I tried setting up internet on both of them but neither accepted settings from Safaricom or Zain. You have to do it manually.
13. February, 2010 at 07:30
Hey, KikuyuMoja….you talked about PCMCIA cards…where can one purchase one? I have looked and looked and LOOKED around but all I can get is those protruding Mobile company modems!
I’m looking for a laptop card which I can feed in the a safaricom line and slip it into my laptop and carry it with me all the time everywhere especially with the new safaricom unlimited net for 7 days offer…
hala at my email…