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The market for fibre internet in Uganda has been growing rapidly in the recent past and consumers are starting to get spoilt with choices.
When signing up for these internet services, customers are often bombarded with promises of "high-speed" and "unlimited" data which sound very appealing. Yet for many users in Uganda, these promises often fall short.
Most of the time, users end up disappointed when they do not get the advertised speeds, or when the internet that was supposedly unlimited appears to run out.
Sam Watasa from the Uganda Consumer Protection Association says there is a big disconnect between advertised and actual speeds.
"We have advertised speeds of 20mb/s, but the actual speeds tend to fall short of these claims, especially during peak usage hours," Watasa said.
Furthermore, Watasa notes that the term "unlimited data" is often misleading.
“Occasionally those who subscribe to unlimited data use it up to a point where they have consumed a certain amount of GBs, then the speeds begin to drop to the extent that sometimes they are off the network,” he says.
”I have personally experienced this with at least 4 internet service providers We need transparency in marketing these services”
The Difference Between Shared and Dedicated Connections
Wilson Nyabera, Managing Director of Bandwidth and Cloud Services at Fibre Net, elaborates on the issue by pointing out the lack of consumer awareness regarding the difference between dedicated and shared internet connections.
In Uganda, he says, most users are on “shared” internet connections, which suffer from a contention ratio, especially during peak hours.
This means that the advertised speed of, say, 10mb/s may not be achievable during evenings when more users are accessing the internet.
On the other hand, dedicated connections, typically used by businesses, offer a consistent upload-download ratio of 1:1.
For the average home user, this is rarely the case, and speeds often fluctuate based on the number of users sharing the same infrastructure.
“So when we are selling you this data, what we are saying is that this service is up to 10mb/s not that it is actually 10mbps. But during peak hours, depending on how many users are there, the speed will certainly be much lower,” Nyabera said.
Understanding the Limits of "Unlimited" Data
Regarding claims of unlimited internet services, Nyabera says this too is misunderstood by users.
Your internet cannot be unlimited. That’s why there are different bundles with different prices," he explains.
Further, he notes that Internet service providers (ISPs) often prioritise certain services like streaming, which can affect the speed and quality of other online activities. So, while your plan may advertise unlimited data, it is crucial to understand that there are still limitations, such as prioritisation and bandwidth sharing.
Holding Providers Accountable
Michael Mukasa, MD of Liquid Technologies, calls for more consumer awareness, advising customers to do their own research before signing up for internet services.
"It is important for a customer to know what they are paying for," he says. “ISPs publish terms and conditions, but many customers fail to read or understand these agreements, leading to frustration when speeds don’t meet expectations.”
On the other hand, Soumendra Sahu, Managing Director at Airtel Uganda, acknowledges the challenges but reassures consumers that the company is actively investing in improving services based on feedback and complaints.