If you are in search of unlimited Internet In Nigeria, you do not have a lot of options to pick from, as there are only a few ISPs that have dared venture into that. As a matter of fact, at the time of writing this article in July 2020, there are basically only three providers to pick from.
The contenders are Smile, ntel, and Spectranet. If you want unlimited Internet in Nigeria, you will have to deal with one of these three (3) wireless providers. There is a fourth, and I shall mention it as a bonus, though you won’t find it much of a bonus if you venture in its direction. Let’s look at what the three main providers of unlimited Internet in Nigeria have to offer.
Smile Unlimited Data Plans
Smile Communications is a 4G wireless carrier and one of the first to provide unlimited Internet in Nigeria. Months ago, Smile Communications attempted something no other wireless carrier in Nigeria had attempted – truly unlimited data plans without throttling. Sadly, they soon backtracked on that and implemented speed breaks in their four (4) unlimited data plans, as follows:
- UnlimitedPlatinum plan
- 30 days validity
- Speeds of up to 6Mbps
- ₦24,000 monthly
- Daily FUP of 10GB.
- Speed throttled to max of to 512kbps after crossing FUP threshold
- UnlimitedPremium plan
- 30 days validity
- Speeds of up to 3Mbps
- ₦20,000 monthly
- Daily FUP of 6G.
- Speed throttled to max of to 512kbps after crossing FUP threshold
- UnlimitedEssential plan
- 30 days validity
- Speeds of up to 8Mbps
- ₦15,000 monthly
- Monthly FUP of 70GB.
- Speed throttled to max of to 512kbps after crossing FUP threshold
- UnlimitedLite plan
- 30 days validity
- Speeds of up to 8Mbps
- ₦10,000 monthly
- Monthly FUP of 35GB.
- Speed throttled to max of to 512kbps after crossing FUP threshold
I find the speed caps on Smile’s unlimited data plans annoying and a turn-off. 6Mbps and 8Mbps maximum speeds on a 4G LTE network? What is the point? The flip side is that Smile Communications offers four (4) different unlimited Internet plans that cater to your budget.
All of them have a Fair Usage Policy applying: when you use up to a certain amount of data, your connection is slowed down to 512 kbps. In practice, it is an annoying limitation that often means your Internet connection becomes completely unusable. So, if you ever cross the FUP threshold before expiration of your validity, just go renew your subscription.
This 512 kbps FUP speed is the bane of unlimited Internet in Nigeria. All the others too are dying on that hill. Or valley.
What of coverage? Smile has the widest coverage of the three. Its services are available in eight (8) cities across Nigeria, namely: Lagos, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Abuja, Benin City, Kaduna, Onitsha, and Asaba.
ntel Unlimited Data Plans
ntel has three (3) unlimited Internet plans – one daily, another weekly, and the third a monthly plan. This gives subscribers the flexbility to worjk with their budgets and time-based needs.
- Unlimited Monthly
- 30 days validity
- No speed caps until FUP threshold
- ₦18,500 monthly
- Monthly FUP of 150GB.
- Speed throttled to max of to 512kbps after crossing FUP threshold
- Unlimited Weekly
- 7 days validity
- No speed caps until FUP threshold
- ₦5,200 monthly
- Weekly FUP of 40GB.
- Speed throttled to max of to 512kbps after crossing FUP threshold
- Unlimited Daily
- 2 days validity
- No speed caps until FUP threshold
- ₦1,500 monthly
- Monthly FUP of 10GB.
- Speed throttled to max of to 512kbps after crossing FUP threshold
If you cross the Fair Use Policy (FUP) threshold of any of the above ntel unlimited data plans, your speed is throttled down to a maximum of 512kbps. It might be god enough for chatting and for email, but anything beyond those basic services will literaly drive you nuts.
In terms of coverage, ntel is present in three (3) cities: Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt.
Spectranet Unlimited Data
Spectranet has only one unlimited data plan.
- Spectranet Unlimited Gold Plan
- 30 days validity
- No speed caps until FUP threshold
- ₦18,000 monthly
- Monthly FUP of 100GB.
- Speed throttled to max of to 512kbps after crossing FUP threshold
The odd thing about unlimited Internet on Spectranet is that you can only get access to it AFTER you have signed up as a Spectranet customer and subscribed to any of the other capped plans. You can then migrate to the Unlimited Gold Plan. I am not sure what is the rationale behind this, but it is what it is. You will not find the Unlimited Gold plan listed for purchase on the Spectranet website.
Spectranet has fair coverage as well, being present in Lagos, Abuja, Ibadan, and Port Harcourt. However, the Unlimited Gold Plan was initially available only for customers in Lagos and Ibadan at launch in 2016. I do not have details on availability at this time.
Bonus Unlimited Internet In Nigeria
One more wireless service provider witrh unlimited Internet in Nigeria is Wifi.com.ng (Tizeti). Tizeti’s offering is actually the most mouth watering. The compoany says that they provide “different UNLIMITED plans with no data cap, no usage threshold and no limited on number of devices that can be connected”. That is fantastic.
Here are the available unlimited plans from Tizeti.
- Residential Unlimited
- 30 days validity
- No speed caps at all
- ₦12,500 monthly
- No FUP
- No throttling
- One-time Setup Fee of ₦37,000
- Residential Pro
- 180 days validity
- No speed caps at all
- ₦75,500 for 6 months
- No FUP
- No throttling
- One-time Setup Fee of ₦37,000
- Residential Yearly
- 12 months validity
- No speed caps at all
- ₦150,000 monthly
- No FUP
- No throttling
- One-time Setup Fee of ₦37,000
So, what are the issues with Tizeti? One: I am wary of any wireless Internet service that requires a setup investment. Usually, you are trapped and stuck with them should their service not meet up to expectations. Ntel, Smile and Spectranet are SIM card based services, so you can buy a SIM card and use any compatible router, mifi, tablet, or smartphone that you already own.
Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, in all the years that I have studied and researched on wireless Internet providers in Nigeria, there is not one person who has used Tizeti that I have spoken to that has any positive feedvback about their quality of service. The consistent refrain is that the quality of service is poor and the connection mostly unreliable. It is my educated guess that this is a fallout of Tizeti’s generous policiy of no Fair Usage Policy and no throttling. Bummer.
It is a case of a good thing turning sour. Wireless networks use throttling to preserve the integrity of their networks, as well as maintain good quality of service for all subscribers. I do not mind FUP throttling, I just wish that Smile, ntel, and Spectranet would not peg it to a useless speed like 512 kbps.
Perhaps Tizeti can implement a reasonable FUP throttling of 1Mbps. That is a usable speed and would also help improve the quality of their Internet service. Maybe even 2Mbps. Why not?
As for coverage, Tizeti’s Wifi.com.ng is available only in Lagos.
Which Is The Best Unlimited Internet In Nigeria?
It has been a long read. And it is time to answer the question, Which is the best unlimited Internet in Nigeria? As far as I can tell at this time, my choice is ntel. Smile’s speed caps are painful, though the company has the widest coverage and the largest number of unlimited plans to choose from.
Spectranet’s odd policy of hiding their Unlimited Gold Plan from you until you have subscribed to their service still clouds my head.
The thing though is that “best” can often be a subjective thing. Which is why I have taken the time to show you all the companies offering unlimited Internet in Nigeria, their different plans, tariffs, features, and limitations. That way, you can make your choice. You can experiment to see which works for you.
Which would you pick as the best unlimited Internet in Nigeria – Smile, ntel, Spectranet, or Tizeti?
- Follow @MobilityNigeria on Twitter to stay up-to-date when we publish new articles.
- Follow @MobilityNigeria on Instagram for fun stuff.
Spectranet is also available in Abuja, unless you’re talking about their unlimited data plan, which is probably also available in Abuja though I can’t say for sure
Hello Edwin.
Thanks for this piece of information. I have updated the article.
Tizeti is truly unlimited and they are getting better by the day.
Check out fiber one sir
Tizeti is the rubbish ooo. I wouldn’t want anyone to go through what i am currently going through with their network.
Internet disconnect almost every 5 minutes
I connect to my office via VPN after which i connect to about 10 applications to enable be work from home, imagine network going off every 5 mins, it means i will be disconnected from all applications, hence will have to be relogging to each applications every 5 mins.
Watching youtube video is even worse, the way the video will be hanging self, you will just abandon the video
Tizetti only if you don’t like money, this guys would squeeze you dr with buying data on your phone, because of their phd in unreliability
Stay away from this Tizeti… they are a fraud. You are advised. They are running out of capacity. They now collect money and do not render service
What about Swift?
There is also Swift network. Unlimited is N25,000 and has a cap on speed. Overall a pain which is why I am reading this
In homes and offices, here is how Spectranet Internet services are changing broadband experiences
Kulele 3999 Kulele 5999 Kulele 7999
12GB 24GB 32GB
₦3,999/Month ₦5,999/Month ₦7,999/Month
https://www.spectranet.com.ng/dataplan
As a Nigerian who has lived in other African countries I’m still totally SHOCKED that 22 years after mobile telecoms berthed in Nigeria, we still do not have unlimited home internet service readily available in every major city and town!
These are some of the reasons why businesses cannot thrive and there is too much hardship in the land due to the absence of unlimited home internet in every major city and town with mobile phone signal. How hard is that for Naija telecom providers to do?
SMH for our Naija governement.
09166947308