I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely apologise to all SmartBiz users. I just had to run my mouth and ruin a good thing for you.
Yesterday, I shared my review of the SmartBiz service. I mentioned that I was using SmartBiz 5, which was supposed to be capped at 5 Mbps. However, during my test period, I was getting speeds far above that.
The highest speed I recorded during the test period was 160 Mbps, and the lowest was 2.88 Mbps download. On average, I had 69 Mbps over a two-week period. That was incredible.
It wasn’t just me; several users reported on social media that they, too, were getting speeds higher than the caps on their accounts. However, not everyone was receiving this treatment. Many reported that they were getting a maximum of 5 Mbps on SmartBiz 5, as advertised.
It appears that the glitch or oversight that allowed some to get higher speeds has been fixed. We’ve seen reports from users who were enjoying those high speeds that they have now come back down to earth.
I am among those affected. Since yesterday, I have not gotten anything above 5 Mbps. So now, I have SmartBiz as marketed.
The 0.54 and 0.52Mbps speeds there were just after I plugged in after a 15-minute power cut. A quick restart restored me to the 4Mbps range.
The honeymoon looks to be finally over.
SmartBiz 5
Remember, SmartBiz 5 costs $45 a month and is capped at 5 Mbps. Historically, we haven’t had deals like this in Zimbabwe. I saw something I wrote back in June when Liquid launched its $99 package:
On prices, would I have wanted to see a $50 option? Of course. I would have loved it to be free but I think the above packages are a good step in the right direction. I think in time prices will only go down further….
Until we get there, my only hope is that Liquid brings the $89/20Mbps deal to Fibronix users too. Or if you’ll allow me to daydream here, how about a $50/10Mbps one too?
Such was the landscape just a few months ago that I considered a $50/10 Mbps package a daydream. Oh, how quickly things can change.
Today, I would scoff at a $50/10 Mbps package. It’s not a daydream anymore; I would consider it a rip-off.
With that in mind, SmartBiz 5 doesn’t sound so impressive. I would have killed for it before, but now, it’s just ‘meh.’
5Mbps
Perspective is important, though. 5 Mbps is usable. You can stream HD videos while others browse the web or scroll through social media on the same account. That’s about it, so don’t expect magic.
Yesterday, when I saw that 5 Mbps was the limit, I decided to redownload a game I never got to complete. An iTunes-caused problem forced me to reinstall Windows.
It took about 3 and a half hours to download Metro 2033 Redux, which is about 7 GB in size. I consistently got around 4.4 Mbps as reported by Steam. Of course, it dipped when I watched HD videos on YouTube, which requires 2.5 Mbps.
Not too bad, especially for someone who lives alone. I don’t know how that would work for a family. I remember using an ADSL service with multiple people, and we were almost always below 1 Mbps, but somehow, we managed.
What’s crazy about 5 Mbps is that if you set something to download on Day 1 and somehow got a consistent 5 Mbps, it would take you 19.42 days to use 1 TB. No one is going to do that.
Econet set the fair usage policy (FUP) at 1 TB for SmartBiz, and I asked how much they would throttle when you hit 1 TB. They said they wouldn’t throttle; they would just cut you off and advise you to recharge. So, it’s best not to think of it as an unlimited package but rather a 1 TB bundle.
However, if you’re using SmartBiz 5, you’re unlikely to reach 1 TB. A terabyte translates to approximately 33 GB per day in a 31-day month.
If you were downloading or otherwise consuming data at 5 Mbps non-stop, it would take you 15 hours to deplete your “daily quota” of 33 GB. You likely won’t get the maximum 5 Mbps, and it’s unlikely you’ll be using it for more than 15 hours a day.
So, Econet might as well remove the FUP on the SmartBiz package. It’s not feasible for a significant number of people to hit 1 TB.
The Starlink question
If SmartBiz had launched this time last year, we would all be gushing over it. Unfortunately, there are more enticing offers in the market now.
Here’s what’s in front of you if you can afford SmartBiz:
- You can buy a router for $50 and pay your monthly subscription of $45. That’s $95 in the first month.
- Then it’s $45 a month going forward.
- After six months, you would have paid $320 to Econet ($95 in the first month, plus $45 for the next five months).
That’s fine for unlimited internet and equipment for six months. However, if you can be patient, you could score an even better deal.
For $300, you could get a Starlink Mini kit, pay for shipping and taxes, and also cover the first month’s subscription on the Residential Lite package.
So, if you saved that $320 you would give to Econet, you could get Starlink instead in just six months, with some change to spare.
To add to that, you would save even more in the long term by choosing Starlink. While SmartBiz charges $45, Starlink charges $30 a month. That’s a $15 monthly saving.
Adding insult to injury, Starlink offers higher speeds. You can expect anywhere from 20-100 Mbps on the $30 Residential Lite package, a far cry from the 5 Mbps you get with SmartBiz. Six months is not too long a wait.
Another positive aspect of this waiting period is that you’ll get to hear from your fellow Zimbos about how Starlink performs in Zimbabwe, especially from those who choose the $30 package, which is deprioritized. You’ll hear from them how Starlink performs during the rainy season, particularly now that we expect more congestion with its licensing.
Tweaks are needed
There’s no sugarcoating it—Econet needs to tweak its SmartBiz packages to compete. They need to introduce a $30 package, at the very least, to match the Starlink Residential Lite package.
A $30 package capped at 10 Mbps would be a better proposition. While it wouldn’t match Starlink’s 20 Mbps at that price point, it would be competitive.
But why stop at matching Starlink? Econet could undercut them by offering SmartBiz 5 at $25 and SmartBiz 10 at $30 or something similar.
Econet can’t afford to be slower and more expensive. It’s a recipe for disruption.
Of course, there’s the question of capacity. Does Econet have the capacity to handle thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people on unlimited plans at 10 Mbps? If not, perhaps this pricing is meant to limit the number of users while network upgrades continue.
Whatever the case, Econet needs to respond.
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