What is Mobile Internet?

Mobile internet is a way of getting online when you’re on the move via portable devices such as mobile phones, tablets and personal computers. These allow you to do everything you would on a fixed connection-whether that’s sending emails, surfing the web and even streaming video and music.

These devices can access the web using in-built wireless network cards or via the use of external modems.

What then is mobile broadband?

Mobile broadband is a form of mobile in-ternet that supports speeds of more than 256 kbps.

Can I access mobile broadband services using my desktop?

The fact that mobile broadband services were services were designed for people on- the – go does not mean that it cannot be used on desktops and PCs. PCs can be connected using external modems/dongles.

Modems & Platforms

What exactly are modems?

Modems are small sized devices usually

same size as USB memory stick that en-able internet connectivity when inserted into USB port making mobile broadband a truly portable experience.

Are all modems similar?

No, each network provider may offer a range of different modems depending on the internet speeds one wishes to pur-chase respective operator’s network de-sign. Modems may be CDMA, HSPDA,3G enabled etc.

Can I use modems across networks for example, can one use a TIGO modem to access MTN services?

No, unfortunately modems are usually network/operator locked.

What kind of phones can access mobile internet services?

MOBILE INTERNET BUNDLE RATES COMPARISON

RWANDA UTILITIES REGULATORY AGENCY

B.P 7289 Kigali, Rwanda (+250) 252 58 45 62/252 58 45 63 Tol free: 3988 info@rura.gov.rwwww.rura.gov.rw

Only WAP enabled handsets can access mobile internet. Most phones on the market can at least support slow speed (narrow band) internet connectivity.

You are advised to check if your handset supports internet and at what speeds at the time of purchase.

Are there any service differences be-tween the network access mediums ad-vertised by the different operators?

Yes, different access mediums support different download speeds and not all mediums are available everywhere. The table below shows service differences between the major mobile broadband access mediums in Rwanda today.

EDGE/GPRS 3G+ WIMAXCoverage Most areas in

RwandaMostly around Kigali

Mostly around Kigali

Maximum speeds support

175 kbps Up to 21 mbps 3 mbps

Providers: Airtel, MTN, TIGO

Pricing

What are the relevant service charges for mobile broadband?

There are 4 major areas one should pay attention to when choosing a mobile broadband services:

• The medium of access; whether one intends to access the internet via a mo-bile phone or via the use of a modem.

• Whether one is to by the service as a dedicated data bundle or would use reg-ular airtime credit to access the service

• Technology platform; GPRS/EDGE/3G+ et al

• Service coverage of network provider

Service providers are advertising many offers with(s) mbs for (y) months. What do these mean? Kb, Mb, GB.

These are measures of the amount of data (processed information) that one can exchange (upload or download) to and from the internet when one pur-chases a particular bundle. The table below shows these measures.

Amount Equivalent Approximate Volume in Kbs1 kilobyte (kb) 1024 Bytes 11 Megabyte (mb) 1024 kb 1,0241 Gigabyte (Gb) 1024 mb 1,024 x 1,024

So how much data does one on average need?

This depends on the projected usage. Approximately the following data vol-umes are required for the following:

Activity Volume of data estimate1000 emails without an attachment 1 MB3 emails with an attachment 1 MB1 email with 3 photo attachments 1 Mb1 hour spent chatting online 1 Mb1 hour web browsing 200MBDownloading on 3 – minute MP3 4MBDownloading on 10 – minute video 40MBDownloading on film trailer 10MB

Should one pay attention to “Va-lidity periods” in quoted offers?

Yes; Validity period is the duration in which a given bundle may be used. For most bundles, one forfeits all unused data upon expiry of this period.You may however carryover unused data for some operators.

Find out from your operator if unused data may be carried beyond the validity period.

Can I only purchase internet in bundles?

No, many operators offer what is called

Pay as You Use options. Usually you will be charged a given price per kb. Howev-er, the per kb rate is much higher than the comparative bundle rates. Take cau-tion when you opt into any Pay as You schemes. You may consider finding out from your operator what their Pay As You use rates are. These rates also auto-matically apply when a bundle runs out. In addition some operators have in place “Unlimited” bundles for given period.

How do I keep track of data vol-umes used?

Like voice credit, one can check data volume balance by dialing prescribed USSD codes. Below are data balance

checks for all operators. Further, some operators send regular SMSs on the sta-tus of data usage.

Some operators have in place a “Fair Use Policy”, what exactly does this mean?

Fair Use policies are terms of service detailing acceptable usage as prescribed by the individual operators. Some oper-ators may prescribe such terms as maxi-mum downloads accepted, resale poli-cies among others. Please consult your service about the Fair usage Policy.

Any more tips on mobile broad-band purchases?

Before you buy any internet service:

• For the price conscious, avoid Pay As You go options where possible;

• Be vigilant about the validity period of the data bundle you buy;

• Ask about the network platform avail-able to your service provider

• Ask about the service coverage

Anything else?

The tables and graphs below chow com-parisons of common bundles, speeds, out of bundle rates for mobile broad-band providers as of September 2012, they may help you in making cross net-work comparisons.

Network Provider Cost Validity Service ClassHappy Hour tariff(Rwf/day)

MTN 10 1:00am to 6:00am Prepaid and PostpaidAirtel 10 00:00-5:59 Prepaid and PostpaidTIGO N/A N/A N/A

Daily package(Rwf/day)MTN unlimited internet 1,000 1 day Prepaid

TIGO internet package 800 1 day Prepaid

AIRTEL daily bundle 650 1 day Prepaid

Normal tariff(Rwf/Mb)AIRTEL 20 6: 00-00:00 Prepaid and PostpaidTIGO 50 N/A Prepaid and PostpaidMTN 30 N/A Prepaid and Postpaid

COMPARISONS OF COMMON BUNDLES, SPEEDS, OUT OF BUNDLE RATES FOR MOBILE BROADBAND PROVIDERS

24 Hours Bundles

1 Week Bundles

MTN 7day package for prepaid customersPackage Cost Validity Service ClassUnlimited 6,500 7 days PrepaidBlackberry (BIS or BES) 6,000 7 days PrepaidBlackberry (BIS+BES) 7,000 7 days Prepaid

1 Month Bundles/MTN

MTN monthly blackberry internet and prepaid unlimited (Rwf/month)

One month bundles (low and medium value up to 1gb) (Rwf/month)

MTN prepaid 250MB 3,000 30 days PrepaidMTN prepaid 500MB 5,000 30 days PrepaidMTN prepaid 1GB 8,000 30 days PrepaidTIGO postpaid 0.5 GB 10,000 30 days Postpaid

Package Cost Validity Service Class30 days prepaid Unlimited 21,000 30 days PrepaidBlackberry (BIS or BES) 20,000 30 days Prepaid and PostpaidBlackberry (BIS+BES) 25,000 30 days Prepaid and Postpaid

TIGO postpaid more than 1GB monthly bundles rates (Rwf/month)

2 GB 20,000 30 days Postpaid8 GB 40,000 30 days Postpaid

10 GB 50,000 30 days Postpaid12 GB 60,000 30 days Postpaid14GB 70,000 30 days Postpaid16GB 80,000 30 days Postpaid18GB 90,000 30 days Postpaid20GB 100,000 30 days Postpaid

MTN prepaid 90 day bundle rates (Rwf/90 days)

Package Cost Validity Service Class5GB 15,000 90 days Prepaid10GB 25,000 90 days Prepaid20GB 43,000 90 days Prepaid