Asides not having stable power supply in my dear country Nigeria, I think one thing we can all also agree on is network service will humble you at one point in your life. It doesn’t matter which network provider you’re a fan of, they aren’t always stable, though some are quite manageable than others.
When it comes to being Nigerian, you should have an MTN network. That’s like the typical, regular Nigerian standard. MTN for SIM 1 slot and other networks for SIM 2 slot. Sometimes, it’s MTN and AIRTEL. Those two are like inseparable twins. A greater number of people living in Nigeria have either one or both network providers. They are the most popular, yet we have other ones like GLO and 9MOBILE (formerly ETISALAT). But I guess when it comes to good network service, MTN and AIRTEL are the ones less likely to give you headache, MTN especially.
Their internet speed is way faster than the rest, not for any other thing. But quite recently, I came to understand that, aside from having a good network provider, a good internet service might also depend on the area where you live. For example, I haven’t always been a fan of AIRTEL or MTN. In fact, I only started using them last year. I lived with my aunt for a long time before I came home last year, and over there, all of us used the GLO network. Not only does it have the fastest internet speed in that area, their data plans are the real definition of enjoyment. Very cheap and lasts for a long time.
Then when I come online and see people saying all sorts of bad things against the GLO network, probably because of the frustration they’ve faced using it, I usually don’t understand because I can’t relate. In my mind, I’m like “I don’t know what y’all are talking about, GLO works just fine for me.” And when people complain about how much they’re spending on data subscriptions on their different networks, I always thank God I’m using GLO.
Fast forward to the time I came home, I was so pained that I couldn’t use GLO anymore because of change in location. The moment I switched locations, my GLO signal went out immediately and the network entered emergency call, meaning that I couldn’t use it for anything, calls, internet, SMS…nothing at all. It was at that moment I started to understand why people were always ranting online. I was forced to get an MTN SIM which, surprisingly, was so fast in our home unlike GLO.
I kept using MTN for a while until I started to get fed up with their outrageous data plan subscription. As a new user, I didn’t have access to better data deals compared to old users, and I was spending more on subscriptions. It was tiring. I had to opt for AIRTEL when I couldn’t take it anymore. My brother had this old AIRTEL SIM he wasn’t using anymore, so I hijacked it. To my relief, their data plans were so cheap compared to the ones I saw on MTN. I was happy, at least no more spending all my life savings buying data.
But I had another problem…internet speed. AIRTEL is significantly slow compared to MTN. Sometimes, I’d be enjoying myself online, chatting with friends, everything moving smoothly, then bam!, emergency calls only. No warning, no weather change, no reason. Network just disappears like it has somewhere else to be. That’s why I always make sure I have at least a little data on MTN, just in case AIRTEL decides to start its drama.
Now they’ve even removed all the affordable data plans I used to enjoy on AIRTEL. At this point, I see myself slowly crawling back to MTN. We may fight sometimes, but it’s the devil I know.
I don’t think I’ve ever used 9MOBILE since I started using a device, but I hear people say good things about it. But like every other network, it depends largely on your location. It can be the best in one area and completely useless in another. Life can’t be all that perfect, can it?
Image is mine