Airtel Uganda’s 4G LTE hadn’t come not until a year ago and just this year, prices were chopped aggressively with the data blasta campaign and data usage has never been the same on the red network. At least on the outside, but we decided to take their LTE service for a spin and get to test if they live up to the promise of a steady 4G LTE network that complements the “Smartphone Network” Tagline.
Indeed we had to stay true to the tagline so we tested it using an iPhone 7 Plus smartphone that supports most 4G LTE bands which includes Airtel’s 2.6GHz FDD and 1,800MHz FDD. We narrowed down our experience in areas of Kampala’s Central Business District, Nakasero, Ntinda, Bukoto and the Naalya-Namugongo stretch presumably are areas where Airtel’s internet is put to its knees owing to their densely populated environs.
Our take on Airtel’s 4G experience
So let us get to business before it is too late but before we give our verdict, it should be known that Airtel’s internet occasionally dropped from 4G to 3G but nonetheless we were connected on 4G LTE for the most part.
We focused our usage on data hogging activities for this two weeks experience like unlimited streaming of both music (ohh hail Spotify), movies, podcasts and videos so in there read Spotify, Netflix, DSTV Now and YouTube plus the normal email and social media cycle but the connection stood up, except for a few instances where there was a noticeable drop in speeds every time the connection dropped from 4G to 3G.
Not to say 3G is bad but it is like driving in a Lamborghini Avetandor and all of a sudden it breaks down and like any rich folk, you take the BMW X6 as your spare car. Literary both are good but the experience with the former is as luxurious as it sounds and will turn eyebrows than the latter but both are luxurious vehicles. You get the gist?
Overtime, the phone could optimize with the 3G connection and we were back to where we left off. We must however reveal that the connection never downgraded beyond 3G so Airtel’s promise of having upgraded all its base stations to 3G stands. Its both good for the subscribers and the telco itself as it managed to best the rest of the pack.
The maximum speeds recorded were 13Mbps and the least the connection performed was 2.9Mbps or let us just round it off to 3Mbps using Netflix’s Fast as a benchmark. Both good basing on today’s standards after all some folks are still enjoying 512Kbps with great pleasure.
Our verdict
The verdict is Airtel’s 4G lives upto to its promise but what stood up for us was the fact that their connection never dropped below 3G. We are just wondering, what is your experience like that side? Let us know what you think in the Poll below.
