By RARZACK OLAEGBE
The data from the streets is ugly. What does the data say about the internet data? The telcos have become another pain. Subscribe to an internet data plan today. Tomorrow, the data is gone. It is as if you are dealing with a ghost. You are unsure where it is lurking. Now, suddenly, talking has become very expensive. Browsing the internet or video streaming has become a luxury.
On the one hand
The telcos have jacked up the prices of data plans. No more handouts. The years of plenty are gone. That was when a thousand naira data plan could last you a month. Not anymore. Not anymore. The data plans have surged by 50 per cent. Meaning: You have to rethink your internet budget. Otherwise, you are walking on the precipice of bankruptcy!
On the other hand
Welcome to the other half of plenty. It is not a lack. It is contentment. You have to be content with the internet data plan your budget can afford. If your budget can only move you for a week, live with it. Otherwise, you might be spending more on internet data than you do on feeding. You would not do that, would you?
READ ALSO: We are growing SMEs in Nigeria -Dangote
In the long term
Many issues have conspired to push the telcos to increase the internet data tariffs. One of them is not your fault. Or is it? Anyway, the telcos, in case you do not remember their names, MTN, Airtel, Glo and 9mobile, have adjusted their prices. One particular network priced its large data plan as high as seventy thousand. For a month! That is the minimum wage of an average Nigerian worker. Does it mean this particular worker will not enjoy the internet?
There is no cheap internet data plan anymore. Even the entry-level data plan is not for an average Nigerian worker. At one thousand naira for a week – that is the lowest for 3.9 GB – the network quality is awful. If an average Nigerian worker uses one thousand naira a week, in a month, he would have spent four thousand naira on internet data. Seventy thousand minus four thousand. Hmm. From experience, none of these telcos offers the best network quality. It is relative. The internet connections oscillate between good and bad. Nothing in between.
Had a negative experience with a video streaming service. The video buffered forever. Changed the network. The same experience. All right. Switched to one of the popular ISPs. Aha. The video would buffer and come on. Then blank. It was a horrible experience. Do you know why your internet slows down after a certain threshold? FUP! Fair. Usage. Policy. What does it mean? FUP reduces the speed of your internet. This allows other users to enjoy the ride too. We are stuck with these telcos because we do not have alternatives. Yet.
Aside from video streaming and conferencing for remote workers, funds transfer is another hiccup. Funds transfer via online banking is a different curveball. I sent some funds to friends. The transfers reversed after 48 hours. After the fact of the matter. Well, we are stuck with these poor telecom offerings because we do not have alternatives. Yet. Various negative experiences abound. Recounting them would not remedy the bad situations. Life throws one of these lemons at you. If you are not a lemonade producer, you can consider changing your trade.
In the short term
An internet data plan is not cheap. If it were so, I would not have cancelled a video streaming! Like a ghost, you cannot tell where the internet data lurks.
*Olaegbe ([email protected])
