Here’s what you need to access Netflix in Zimbabwe

By now everyone has heard that Netflix, the online pay-TV service is now available in Africa with Zimbabwe also represented as one of its markets.

So how do you sign up for the service? Through our WhatsApp groups, we managed to gather feedback from Zimbabweans that have been using Netflix for the past couple of days. Other than the money for the service, there are a couple of things you need to sort out first before you can access the VOD service but the most important requirement is a good internet connection.

An uncapped package makes sense here considering that there’s no guarantee of how much data you will need and how much content you’ll consume though capped packages with huge data allowances can be adequate.

Your connection has to be reasonable fast and according to Netflix, the minimum required speed is 0.5 Mbps and the recommended speed is 1.5 Mbps with faster speeds recommended for better video quality (3 Mbps for SD quality, 5 Mbps for HD quality, 25 Mbps for UHD).

Due to the need for speed and reliability, certain types of connections are recommended here with Fibre and ADSL being the most suitable.

For ADSL, the cheapest unlimited package(Infinity Pro) will set you back $90 a month. Assuming you are only streaming a limited number of shows you could try the capped Home Premier Package for $42 that will offer you 50 GB of data.

For fibre packages, your options for unlimited service include the TelOne Intense ($118 per month), Telco Velocity Fire($128 per month) and ZOL Fibroniks Family Entertainment($149).

You can give streaming a shot through a WiMAX connection though the huge inconsistency in speeds would likely be a hindrance to a great streaming experience.

In any case, you could try packages like uMAX’s suite that include the $75 monthlyMAX which has an aggregate data allowance of 80 GB. uMAX gets special mention here because the service has maintained a reputation for consistent speeds of 1 Mbps.

Other Fibre and ADSL options as well as WiMAX packages are listed here.

The other requirement for Netflix is a VISA, MasterCard or American Express card or a PayPal account to make payments. From this list, VISA and MasterCard are the most common form local banks and should be easy to get, and the more accessible MasterCard from mobile money provider EcoCash can be used for Netflix.

Once this has been taken care of you can access Netflix, though it’s important to note that there is some content you might be looking forward to but won’t be able to watch because of geo-locking. If you want to watch shows you can follow the workaround provided here.

Please share in the comments below the type of internet you are using to access Netflix and the sort of arrangement you are making for the payments.