Yesterday, Spiritage finally came out with huge adverts in the press claiming they have a modern 4G network. The “game’s just changed” shouts the advert!
Has it?
Back in April, we believed this was a strong possibility. Now, we’re just hopeful. The half-hearted and ill-executed ‘launch’ four months ago did in our faith. There’s also been too much talk around town about things not well at the company, senior executives leaving, and other such disappointing stuff.
We’re not convinced the game is changing, we’re just hopeful. Nothing we can see suggests this ‘launch’ is not like the July one.
The adverts contain a full page listing of Brodacom’s 4G services compared to “standard services”; an attempt to show just how broader Brodacom is. It also has some huge chunks of text explaining what the Brodacom company is, stuff about watching live online videos becoming seamless and some information about the whole Spiritage group. If you’re thinking ‘information overload and confusing’, you’re not alone.
The bold claim here though is 4G. Just a little over two months ago, Spiritage Communications managing director Kangai Maukazuva told us the company had deployed a 3.9G network. This time, in clear favour of message simplicity and of-course standing out from the 3G GSM crowd that is Econet, NetOne and Telecel, that number has been rounded off to 4G. Well, either that or some major upgrade work has happened in these two months. Who knows?
We have not used the Brodacom internet and will not say that the company is not offering 4G services. We have asked them for a test unit to review and offer our opinion and we’re looking forward to them saying yes, so we can experience what good internet feels like!
Our position remains that while 3G, 3.5G, 3.9G and 4G and so forth are standards, their meaning has been watered down by marketing departments that just abuse them. And it’s not Spiritage. Remember Econet’s 3G in 2009? It’s same claptrap world over. Our advice is this: don’t decide to buy just because you’ve seen a “We have 4G” advert. Ask to test the service and see if it meets your needs first before you buy.
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15 comments
Running a Telecoms company is not as easy as these guys thought I guess… let alone in Zimbabwe. It takes blood and sweat and a pound of flesh – be ye warned
Just for interest, do these guys have a 3G network Fully implemented and working? Because it seems overly ambitious to just jump to 4G, which i assume is more expensive to set up, whereas 3G it stil very appealing to Zim. i wish these companies wld advertise something that they have fully implemented, not some dream or idea . . that never makes it to the real world
just curious – who is using this network and for what good reason?
sori ,am not interested!…this just another Harare-focused venture…is Hre not saturated yet?…with the likes of even ZOL shying away from areas besides Hre or Byo,wat is the future of internet in Zim…true the marketing gurus (for lack of beta word) at these IT cos.are a joke…spare us the nonsense,please!…e.g.Econet has hardly improved since their $100 million broadband lauch,if anything,many users are shying away from them,fact!…more like an Ecocash co.,..wen is the launch of ECOSERVICE from these guys,its wat they really want at the moment….!
Wat r u on about? For your ignorance sake, this company is in Mutare and Bulwayo already and im told gweru in the next few weeks.
Chitungwiza, Ruwa
a yu on their payrol?…buda pachena shamwari…wat abt Marondera?…jst saw their pricing structure in sunday papers…so far Telone ADSL is the one to bit…very attractive and reliable!
still my question remains -who is using this network and for what good reason?
This is a wanna be company. It is using Wimax which technology is being shunned by networks across the world. They do not have a 4G network and you cannot video stream on the network. I began using it after the July launch and I get a better experience on my Eco chii line. They are opening themselves up to serious legal challenges by claiming 4G. They do even have the basic HSDPA which my allow you to hit uploads of 7.2Mbps.
i am actually using the dongle a bit zhing but the speeds are lightning fast, it streams youtube videos with no buffering on a 512kbp/s connection, the problem is with coverage am in milton park some areas are excellent some are very bad..Brodacom need to sort it out but it.s surely a game changer
I am also using Brodacom`s services and am very happy.You get exactly what they promise.I can stream anything that i want at anytime, you should checkout the Unlimited packages that they have,its excellent.Remember for all Broadband services there is contention,which most ISPs do not mention to their customers.For example Africom says they can offer upto 3.1Mbps but if you use the dongle you don’t even get speeds they communicate.All they mention is the maximum speed you can get but, on the ground its not what you get.FOOD FOR THOUGHT!
But indeed Brodacom is a game changer.
well my question is if the ITU says that it defines 4G as a connection of at least 100Mbps… How far is Brodacom from getting to that level?
guys someone please advice telecel to go green..RED?