Airtel 4G officially launches and data prices slashed

This morning at the Radisson Blu Hotel – over breakfast – Airtel Zambia announced the launch of its 4G/LTE network in Zambia. Airtel Managing Director, Peter Correia, shared that high speed wireless broadband has the potential to transform Zambia, provide a robust platform for building the country’s digital economy and truly empower people as is highlighted in the 7th National Development Plan. 

“This only means that Zambians will continue to look for services that provide faster data transfer and improved mobile web access – unlocking options for video conferencing and cloud computing which is what Airtel 4G intends to do.” – Correia.

He also shared that data bundle prices have been reduced with effect from today so Airtel subscribers can check them out on *575#, or see below:

“We also hope that our 4G and new data plan will further fuel the tech ecosystem in Zambia unleashing inventions in countless other areas as consumers adopt new behavioural patterns and businesses find ways to improve efficiency, develop new products and services, and expand their market reach.” – Correia

Phase one of the 4G rollot has been completed in the Copperbelt and Lusaka, and in Livingstone, Chipata, Monze, Mazabuka, Choma, Senanga, Mongu and Solwezi towns. Airtel will keep updating us on when they start start Phase Two of the upgrade. Corriea also confirmed that the network trouble most subscribers have faced th epast months has been due to the upgrade of the system.

We shared the new data prices to social media and many subscribers seem excited about the new prices, but others have one question: ‘how great are the speeds?’

We can’t tell yet.

An Ookla speed test at the breakfast meeting showed upload speed of about 38 mbps (megabits per second) and download speeds of about 58 mbps but we all know that isn’t the same from user to user, device to device, or location to location so I asked Peter Correia how Airtel is addressing that issue. He says Airtel will continue to extend capacity to counter the expected data traffic, and as more demand for data especially in rural areas occurs, they will bring in even more support to ensure smooth experiences with the company’s data offerings.

Twitter, ofcourse, has reacted:

Now is not the time to play with my emotions 😪 https://t.co/WjH9wSAASb

— LA_FLAME• 🔥 (@thee_la_flame) December 14, 2017

Christmas came early 😏😅🥂 https://t.co/skRG6Te7pW

— Frodo (@martinchongojr) December 14, 2017

If these prices are permanent, this is a game changer #datamustfall https://t.co/XPNmqcyfDU

— Mawano Kambeu (@MawanoKambeu) December 14, 2017

Thank you @Airtel_Zambia!! https://t.co/BHfr4nufRk

— Erasmus Mweene (@ErasmusMweene) December 14, 2017

@AudreyLupasha babe maybe you can afford IG now https://t.co/Tf9RPZyUqd

— Aesthetic Ogress ✨ (@Meanwhile_meah) December 14, 2017

Heads to the nearest airtel office to buy a simcard 💃💃 https://t.co/T789EVesCA

— Miss Peters (@roza_peters) December 14, 2017

Yooo is this real? I will legit buy an airtel sim card today 😂 https://t.co/P0cV3VuDFs

— Some people call me Mwa (@mwambalienda) December 14, 2017

Damn Daniel https://t.co/prPHp1feK0

— Panda Monium (@arsenalpanda11) December 14, 2017

Wayment 😩 https://t.co/Hp8re0q0fQ

— Luke ツ (@NubianSkywalker) December 14, 2017