This is an observation on the economic side of accessing the internet while in Africa.
option a) Use your existing European SIM card. Don’t bother to learn about local telephone or IP providers. In my case, this means using T-Mobile. They charge me 0.79 Euro (plus VAT) for every 50 kBytes of 3G internet access, post-paid with my monthly T-Mobile subscription. So this means if I download 20 Megs, it is very easy for me to do it. I just have to pay 316 Euro.
I tried this option when at Nairobi airport, on July 7th, for a few minutes. Yesterday, I also talked to a guy from The Netherlands, staying at the same hotel as I am, in Durban, South Africa, and he is paying a similar price.
option b) Go to a local shop in Tanzania, or Zambia, or South Africa, and buy a local SIM card for wireless access with a local telecoms company. This is pre-paid, so you simply pay upfront.
So this means:
| T-Mobile (Roaming) | 20 Megs | € 316 total cost |
| Tanzania (Zantel) | 100 Megs @ 10,000 Tshs | € 5 total cost |
| Zambia (Airtel) | 50 Megs @ 20 Kwacha | € 3 total cost |
| South Africa (Vodacom) | 100 Megs @ 100 Rand | € 6 total cost |
Any questions, anyone? Call me now in South Africa using my local number +27-796-746409 (same one that I am using for internet access).
Also have a look at §138 Abs.2 BGB (German Civil Code).
2 Antworten auf „African Communications and Economics“
Is this why we consider roaming a best option when we visit western contries but not vise versa 🙂
Well for some reason, my South African Vodacom card doesn’t work any longer, now that I am back in Europe. So @Crispin how do you do roaming?