Internet Access in Nigeria is improving. Today, there are many service providers to choose from. Some of these service providers are crappy in certain locations so it’s important to know what your options are. I was using Starcomms for a while and then switched to MTN. Not only was the service cheaper but it was much faster and reliable. While Starcomms says I have 20GB monthly data cap (though I never got to 2GB) I found that MTN’s service plan makes me more productive even though they have a 3GB cap. Recently, I had course to reconsider using Starcomms, but the painful memories of screaming at customer care for days and long hours I wasted uploading small files made me make a U-turn.
Don’t settle for crappy internet! Find the best for your location and lifestyle and be happy. Here is a list of providers and their service plans. I’ll update as I get more info. Please share your experience with internet providers so we can all learn.
| Internet Service Provider | Data Plan | Data Cap | Access Period (If Applicable) | Price | Validity (Days) | Activation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Starcomms EVDO |
Purple Always REN | 20G | 24 hours | 15,950 | 30 | |
| EvDO | 100 Hrs | 20G | 24 hours | 6,500 | 30 | *242**1234# to 37938 |
| Requires another phone for activation | 250 Hrs | 20G | 24 hours | 15,000 | 90 | |
| Dail *121 for customer care | Purple Business REN | 20G | 9am – 9pm | 7,000 | 30 | *245**1234# to 37938 |
| Purple Night REN | 20G | 9pm – 9 am | 5000 | 30 | ||
| Friendly 8 | 20G | 7-11 am & 7-11pm | 6,000 | 30 | ||
| Starcomms CDMA 1 | Green Always REN | 20G | 24 hours | 10,000 | 30 | |
| CDMA1 | Green Business REN | 20G | 9am – 9pm | 7,000 | 30 | |
| Dail *121 | Green Night REN | 20G | 9pm – 9 am | 5000 | 30 | |
| Green Corporate REN | 20G | 24 hours | 8,000 | 30 | ||
| Green 100 Hours REN | 20G | 24 hours | 5,000 | 30 | ||
| Green 250 Hours REN | 20G | 24 hours | 10,000 | 90 | ||
| Peak | N/A | 06.00-23.00 hrs | 3/min | |||
| Off-Peak | N/A | 23.00-06.00 hrs | 3/min | |||
MTN |
Monthly Plan | 5G | 24 hours | 8,000 | 30 | Text 101 to 131 |
| HSPA (3.5GB) | Nite | 3G | 10 pm – 5am | 2,500 | 30 | Text 102 to 131 |
| Dial 180, Dial 181 for customer care | Daily Plan | 50MB | 24 hours | 500 | 1 | Text 103 to 131 |
| Pay-As-You-Use | 24 hours | 15 kobo per kilobyte | ||||
| MicroSIM | 3GB | 24 hours | 10,000 | 30 | ||
Glo HSI |
Always Max | 5 GB | 24 hours | 10000 | 30 | Text 12 to 127 |
| HSUPA (3.5GB) | Always Min | 1.5 GB | 24 hours | 5000 | 30 | Text 11 to 127 |
| Dial 121 for customer care | Always Day | 150 MB | 24 hours | 500 | 30 | Text 10 to 127 |
| Always Micro | Text 13 to 127 | |||||
| G300 | 4 GB | 300 Hrs | 15000 | 90 | Text 21 to 127 | |
| G100 | 3 GB | 100 Hrs | 6000 | 30 | Text 20 to 127 | |
| G Work | 3 GB | 8am – 9pm | 6000 | 30 | Text 31 to 127 | |
| G Leisure | 3 GB | 8pm – 9am, All Day Weekends | 5000 | 30 | Text 30 to 127 | |
Multilinks |
MultiLinks AnyTime | 6GB | 24 hours | 9,000 | ||
| EvDO | MultiLinks DayTime | 6GB | 8am to 8pm | 6,000 | ||
| Requires another phone for activation | MultiLinks NightTime | 20GB | 12am to 8am | 3,500 | ||
| MultiLinks MyTime 250 | 24 hours | 9,900 | 60 | |||
| MultiLinks MyTime 100 hours | 24 hours | 5,600 | 30 | |||
| MultiLinks MyTime 50 hours | 24 hours | 3,400 | 30 | |||
Zain |
Zain Day | 50 MB | 24 hours | 500 | 1 | *141*712*3# |
| HSUPA (3.5GB) | Zain Lite | 100 MB | 24 hours | 1,000 | 30 | *141*712*4# |
| Zain Plus | 1 GB | 24 hours | 5,000 | 30 | *141*712*1# | |
| Zain Max | 3 GB | 24 hours | 10,000 | 30 | *141*712*2# | |
| Zain Premium | 6 GB | 24 hours | 15,000 | 30 | *141*712*5# |
Tips
- MTN’s most annoying issue is that once your service plan expires they immediately start billing you at 15kobo/KB. If you have about N10k credit, that would expire in no time so BEWARE!!!.
Thank you very much my friend, you are very kind in sharing this useful information with? others…. he details were such a blessing, thanks.
hi again
Sky
please which one of multilink modem good for cyber cafe
I won’t recommend an internet connection with a download limit for a cyber cafe. A lot of people will download and a 6 GB won’t make much sense. I’d recommend you get an unlimited/high data cap so you will have a fixed cost per month for internet bandwidth. Checkout MTN Hynet. I don’t know if Multilinks has a similar plan though.
how much is multilinks cheapest for laptops presently.
From the list above it’s N3,400 for 50 Hours. Note that all the plans about also apply to laptops as long as you have a compatible modem.
Pls help me with the activation codes and balance check for glo internet bundles of 150mb daily, 150mb monthly and 500mb monthly subscriptions. Thanks.
Hi, sorry I’m not aware of some of the plans u mentioned. For the others pls check the table above. The activation codes are on the right. Cheers
@fedilis send 13 to 127 for glo 150MB
Thank you so much for taking your time and effort to to
prepare ans share this very important information with us. this is
the first time I’m seeing a comprehensive comparison of Internet
data plans across Nigerian service providers. you really deserve an
award of a DON (distinguished outstanding Nigerian). thanks and
Godbless
Thanks Lanre.
I have used Starcomms Neo and will confirm your opinion
about that… CRAPPY. Presently I bought Glo Modem and started
using it, but to my disappointment, it seems to be worse than the
Starcomms I was using before. It keeps tripping off while you are
in the middle of downloading and you have to keep reconnecting. I
have used it in Lagos (very disappointing, it keeps changing from
EDGE to WCDMA to HSDPA and cuts off), Zaria (connects on EDGE but
hardly can you browse with it), Jos (Rukuba Barracks (it connects
but you can’t browse at all). Please what do I do with it.
Hi Austin, I experienced the same with Starcomms and Glo. Since I started with MTN I haven’t looked back. You can give em a try. I use my phone as a modem which I’ll recommend you do too so you don’t have to buy the modem, plus you can use the Internet on your phone when you are mobile. You can also easily switch between GSM ISPs by just changing the SIM. Only draw back to using your phone as a modem is that you can’t receive voice calls while connected.
You can try out MTN’s daily plan. If it’s ok then u can migrate to the 5GB plan if u are a heavy internet user.
pls can anyone let me know if muttilinks has a daily subscription plan and what the activation code is?
Thanks indeed for the set of info you’re providing here, much appreciated.
I tried to get details rgarding costs & recurring charges about MTN’s HyperNet service plans from their website but got nowhere. Could you please fish and publish such details? I don’t want to have to call their customer service for such info.
Thanks.
Will do that asap.
Every one complained about starcomms, non of u ever tried I ZAP modem its broadband nd faster than the so called MTN HSDPA. For light internet users MTN is ok.
In my case your assumption is wrong. I used iZap for over a year before switching to MTN. Just remembering issues I went through gives me a headache. MTN Is at least 3x faster and cheaper. Coverage is much better too. But hey, if you feel izap is better, ride on.
I’ve spent a whole day trying to upload files on izap which on MTN won’t take 5mins. You should also read about HSPA and EVDO on wikipedia.
By the way it would very immoral for us to compare HSPA and CDMA1x.
Has anyone experienced the intermitent disconnection with MTN FASTLINK MODEM? Mine disconnects after 50 sec. I migrated to MTN recently from Mlinks and with this hickup, I kind of think MTN do not deserve all the credit given for their high speed internet. Please somebody tell me I’m wrong and what is this intermitent disconnection all about?
I’ve not experienced this with MTN and I’ve been using it for over 6 months. I suspect it may be connected with signal quality.
which network good for cyber cafe at sango ota, ogun state area,
please help me out on this
Nice job. is there any network with night and weekend plans only in Nigeria? i have internet in my office but none at home and being trying to get one for home services, especially weekend because i would to work at home but not possible! if none, kindly assist in getting a plan that is similar to my plan!
Thanks!
Thanks. Yes there is. Swift Networks provides 4G LTE with night and 24hrs during the weekend. I think it’s about 6K. I’ll post details of the plans very soon.
Pls i need help, hav multi links 3G Blue broadband but i don’t know how to activate it. I want knw if i recharge 3400 for the 50 hrs plan, will it start browsing or i need to activate it. If yes, how? Also when i plug d moden on my laptop d signal Q is 1bar i want to knw if it is gud 4 browsing. Finally, using mobile phone as moden 4 mtn and zain and using there modens which one is best to browse the internet ? Thanks
To activate any of the Multilinks internet plans, you need call customer care. Thats the only way I’m aware of. I’ve not used multilinks much but one bar could result in very slow speeds even if the network is pretty fast. If u can get an EVDO connection then it may not be too bad but if it’s 1x then it would be just like dialup.
I’ve used both my phone and their modem to browse on MTN and I most confess that the modem is better. Seems the modem has a better antenna hence it’s easier to connect at high speeds though this is because MTN signal quality is poor in my area. However if MTN signal quality is great then both would perform great (I don’t think there will be any difference in this case). I cannot recommend Airtel’s Internet Plans. Used it some time back and it wasn’t good. Got friends that use it on their mobiles but none of them will recommend it. Seems Airtel’s 3G coverage is crap and so far MTN’s 3G coverage is the best in my humble opinion.
kudos my brother.
Have u tried using the fastlink sim to browse on your fone e.g. will texting 102 to 131 make you browse night time on your mtn handset?
Pls kindly update to reflect current prices.
Thanks sajayi for putting this piece together. I found it quite useful.
As a matter of opinion, Starcomms internet in Abuja is CRAP. prospective clients should beware till further notice.
pls, which internet modem is gud at osun state or obafemi awolowo university and lagos. will mtn be able to do it? if i want to gdt a mtn modem, must i go to their office ? thanks i apreci8 ur effort..
Hi Seun, I’ve not tried MTN in Osun State/OAU but in Lagos I think MTN is the best. Realiability and speed is pretty good. Once you don’t need more than 5GB data transfer a month and are willing to part with 8K a month with I’ll recommend it. If you can find a black market seller then you don’t need to go to their office. Note that MTN sells it for N5,500 while you’ll get it in the black market for N6,500 and above. Once you then get an activated SIM you are ready to go.
pls, what is activation code to migrate from 50hours on multilinks to 100 hours or 250hours
Hi Wale, sorry don’t know the code. Will post it if I do find it.
Tnx, mahn…… another question pls’ If i want to get a modem must i go with my laptop? or can i purchase it nd use it at home without trial first..?
USING THE PHONE AS A MODEM AND GETTIN A MTN MODEM, WHICH ONE IS BETTER, PLS….,.
Depends… The modem has a better HSPA antenna in my opinion and thus you’ll get better signal quality with it (my experience with my E72 my MTN E1550 USB Modem. I was literally hunting for 3G when using my phone but with the USB modem I don’t. I preferred using the phone because it meant I didn’t have to pay for another internet plan on my phone and also I could watch videos on my phone without the fear of exceeding my monthly data limit. Right now I have to pay for two data plans and I don’t watch videos on my phone.
One little issue with using your phone as a modem (at least mine) is that I couldn’t receive calls once it’s in 3.5G mode. If it’s in Edge mode then I can receive calls.
You can start out with your phone and if you conclude it’s now working as it should you can purchase the modem.
Lastly, yes you can buy the modem without taking your laptop. You’ll be asked for a passport, a utility bill, identification (driver’s license/international passport).
@ OAU, Ife, MTN has full 3G & it’s d best for browsing
how can i recharge my muiti-links browsing with landline router pls somebody help me with dat..
help me out with d activation code of multilinks daily browsing
pls i need the code for the multilinks daily plan
What I’ve been told by Multilinks users is that you either go to their office or call customer care.
How can i migrate from instant surf to always micro? I have text 53 to 127 or 13 to 127 but glo tell me my new request is invalid
Hi, what I do to activate is enter the following url to my web browser (works even if you don’t have a plan but only on your glo line) http://hsi.glo.com/HSISelfCarePortal/plan/list/HSI_3G
Then I select the package I want activated.
pls multilinks 50hours,hw many gig is it…….3400
I don’t think there is any data cap for 50 hours.
Sajayi tanks 4 ur updates u’ve certainly been helpful but i was hoping u might help me out. I’m bout to start a cafe and i was wondering which ISP would be better. Pls i won’t mind u including their plans.tankz
Hello aenonimus, there are a number of factors to consider when selecting an ISP for a cafe. Since the success of your cafe directly depends on your ISP it’s difficult for me to provide you with good counsel since I’m not an expert. Different ISPs have varying coverage areas hence you need to find the best ISP for where you are locating your cafe and your budget.
However I will update the site with Swift’s Internet packages, Hynet from MTN and Glo broadband.
Sajayi, I am about to visit Nigeria, is there a USB dongle type of broadband internet access modem from MTN to use with a Laptop and where do I get one? Second, I use an ipad2 that does not use GSM sims but has Wifi and bluetooth, what hardware equipment do I use to connect it to the internet? Thanks, Ayo
Hello Ayo, yes MTN has a USB dongle. I’m currently using one too, the Huawei E1550 and it works on Windows and Linux. You can get it from any major MTN office but you’ll require a number of things though like passport photograph, identification card / international passport, PHCN bill for within the last 6 months (or any other bill that proves residency) and about N5,500 I think. It’s not always available from the office and the queue at MTN’s offices are usually long so I will suggest another alternative. I’ve observed that the same modem is available in the market especially at computer village. It’s a bit more expensive but you don’t have to queue or fill forms.
After getting the dongle you’ll need to also buy a SIM. Which shouldn’t cost more than N500. You are required to register your SIM before you can use it so immediately you purchase your SIM card I suggest you register it immediately (you’ll be fingerprinted, a picture of you taken and your bio-data all for free). It may take up to 24 hours before your SIM is activated. Once activated all you need to do is load credit on it and subscribe to the internet package you require.
If you’ll be able to go to Computer Village, Ikeja, I’ll advice you not to go into the main market cos it’s really rowdy. I’ll suggest you go to a shopping mall called Assets Corp Shopping Mall at 21 Obafemi Awolowo Rd, Ikeja. You can check the map I shared with you or use the link bellow.
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=210473162782906972299.0004b06ea88a5d34d7f01
If you need any other info I’ll be happy to help. Hope you have a pleasant stay in Nigeria.
Opps! Forgot about the iPad question. MTN has a product called MiFi. It’s basically a portable WiFi-enabled modem. You can get that instead of the USB dongle and connect your laptop and iPad to the internet using MiFi. It’s more expensive than the dongle and you’ll probably have to get it from one of MTN’s offices.
Some of the telcos provide broadband routers too eg. Glo, MTN, Swift, MobiTel, etc. They are not as portable as the MTN MiFi but they’ll also get the job done.
Hi..thumbs uo to’u sajayi….nice job
Thanks.
I want you to find out about Zoom services
hi i am a heavy internet user so far mtn has been not so great and 5gb is not enough would starcomms be better as they have 20gb, would it have good speed and less network issues?
Hi, I don’t know how starcomms is now but when I was using it (some years back) I had lots of issues. Strangely due to it’s slow speed I could never use more than 3GB in a month even though I was on a 24/7 plan. I tried Glo last month, 7.5k for 6GB with a promo of 1 month free after 3 consecutive months. Just reverted to MTN cos Glo stopped working on my android phone but it works on my Nokia. MTN works on the same android phone (using it right now) so I guess the problem is from Glo. Depending on your budget you could checkout MTN HyNet or Swift.
Oga Ajayi, I have an android tablet for which the Starcomms izap dongles do not want to work. I have found a hack but it involves re-installing the Android Operating System. Do you know whether MTNs Mifi eliminates the need to flash Android or am I likely to be in the same boat? Thanks in advance.
Yes it does in that MiFi is basically a wireless access point powered by a GSM modem. So your android tablet/laptop/phones can connect via WiFi. No need to flash android in that case.
By the way Akin, do you really need to get MiFi? Your android tablet should be able to create a hotspot and share the internet connection. I’m currently using my Android phone as a hotspot and I’m using MTN.
hi, pls could u kindly fill me in on the multilinks wimax. thanks
Hi Nikky, I’m sorry but I don’t know anything Multilinks WiMax. I’ve not used it so I wouldn’t like to comment. I don’t think their service is the best in town right now though so pls be cautious and do lots of research before selecting a provider.
Pls help me to connect my 2go network
pls, is 3G network for multilinks in ogbomoso?
Sorry, I have no idea.
interesting, dongle support care..me like.
hello Sir please i was going through your mail trail trying to see if any comment match my inquiry luckily you hit the jackpot. i recently purchased an android tablet airis and am trying to see how i can hook it up to mtn so i can use it for browsing and making calls now having said this is there a possiblity of this happening. Thanks for your help
Hello Uche, sorry for the late reply. If your tablet has a SIM slot, yes you can. You can use either the micro SIM or the normal SIM. You may not be able to activate the data plan directly from your tablet (some don’t have an interface for sending sms or ussd) but that can be solved by popping the sim in a normal phone. Don’t go for the table internet plan i.e. 10k for 3GB. It’s a rip-off! Once your sim is in your phone you can activate 5GB for 8k only. If your tablet doesn’t have a sim slot but has WiFi, you can consider getting a MiFi device
Hi! Pls i use multilinks, 50 hrs plan. my subscription expires tomorrow and i have 20 hours left. will it be added to the new 50hrs i buy?. thanks
Hi Sammy, I doubt if your hours left will be added. I don’t use Multilinks but all hourly plans I have used never carry over time or data used left. Only operator I’ve heard carries over data cap left is Etisalat. You may want to contact customer care to verify.
Thank you very much for your timely response. God bless you!
Pls help, how do I load MFN credit for miff on my ipad
Sorry, I mean mtn airtime for mifi on iPad
can some one help me am at onitcha just open a cybercafe up to 20 system i don’t know ISP i will use for it, i really need help is like MTN hynet network is not in my area some one tell me what to do
Pls help!!!
I loss my service numberof my 3g.blue anydata multilinks hw do I retrieve it.
Hey! Thanks for this indepth information. I have been looking for this for quite a while. Kudos!
any one who want to buy multilinks router please call me on 08037768267 am at onictcha am waiting
GOOD DAY … JUST MOVE TO NEW AREA CALL ITAOLUWO OGIJO IKORODU … MY STARCOMMS IS NOT WORKING IN THIS WHICH NETWORK DO YOU GUYS ITS BEST TO UES IN MY AREA…
I am multilink internet member. How can i know my credit time at any time? pls advice me. send me details by mail
wow u guys are trying pls which one is better in EVDO,CDMA e.t.c.
Most def, EVDO is better.
Pls help me l just got lg vx11000 with starcomm service and l don’t know how to buy data plan without going to their office
I seldom drop remarks, however i did a few searching and wound up here Internet Service Plans
And, if you are writing at other places, I’d like to
In Nigeria with Pricing, Validity, Data Cap, and Activation Codes | Little Drops
of Words. And I actually do have some questions for you if it’s allright. Is it only me or does it appear like a few of these remarks come across like they are coming from brain dead individuals?
follow anything new you have to post. Could you make a list of the complete
urls of all your public pages like your Facebook page, twitter feed, or linkedin profile?
Hello guys, i am new on this fora. what if i offer you a network that will give you unlimited internet access, unlimited download time for a token fee of 5,000 naira per month and an initial installation fee of 2,000 naira? for information call kenny on 07037986845 or mail me on systemshipriest@yahoo.com