I’ve always been a Safaricom loyalist. It’s the go-to network for most Kenyans, and for good reason. But after years of enduring slow speeds and frequent disconnections in my rural village, I’ve come to a startling realization: Airtel has quietly become a formidable competitor, especially in the hinterlands.
In 2017, while living in Eldoret, I had this Airtel SIM card in a second phone that barely saw the light of day. I mean, why would I even bother using it? Airtel’s network was a nightmare — phone calls were choppy, and the internet crawled at a snail’s pace. This was Eldoret, one of the biggest towns in Kenya at the time (now a city!), and yet, Airtel couldn’t keep up. And don’t even get me started on my experience with Airtel in my village in the eastern parts of county 038. It was practically non-existent! I dismissed Airtel without hesitation and settled with Safaricom, which, while not flawless, was the lesser evil.
Watu wa Nairobi wamefika huku roots wanajifanya wanajikumbusha kupanda juu ya miti za mapera na ova kumbe ni network ya Airtel wanatafuta😂😂😂
— Himp Man (@keverenge98) December 24, 2019
Now, let’s not kid ourselves, Safaricom isn’t exactly winning gold medals for network quality either, at least not in my village. Back home, their 4G often feels like an old, tired 3G with hardly a couple of network bars. Basic browsing? A struggle. Social media apps like X and WhatsApp behave like they’re on a coffee break — videos refuse to play, images load as if they’re buffering from the year 2000. At times, I switch back to 3G to get a decent connection, and trust me, that’s a sad reality for a country supposedly transitioning to 5G. Calls were fine for the most part, but Safaricom had its quirks. Randomly, I’d just be… offline. Heck, some of my friends can even tell if I’m back in the village based on my online status, or lack thereof.
This still happens to date.
Fast forward nearly 7 years after my breakup with Airtel, and I did something I never thought I’d do: I gave Airtel another shot. What brought me back? A 5G router and a tinge of curiosity. After hearing whispers that Airtel had installed a booster near my village, I decided it was time to see if they’d finally gotten their act together.
Now, the 5G part of the router didn’t exactly light up the way I’d hoped — no 5G signal reached me. But here’s the shocker: the internet speed was hitting near the maximum the router could support. My package promises 10Mbps, and Airtel was delivering. Download speeds consistently hovered above 8Mbps, and upload speeds ranged between 3-5Mbps. Wait, what?! In my village? From Airtel? I thought I was being pranked by the internet gods.
Naturally, I couldn’t just let it go. I decided to push the connection to the limits. I hopped on YouTube, streaming on my phone and laptop at the same time. No buffering. Then came the big test — streaming a live Premier League game, Bournemouth vs Chelsea. I braced for the inevitable lag, but… nothing. Smooth as butter! I watched the match on my phone without a single hiccup. For the first time in years, Airtel made me rethink everything.
I took my Airtel 5G router for testing back in my village, and all I can say is fuck Safaricom for lying to us that they have the best coverage across the country.
— Himp Man (@keverenge98) September 17, 2024
The fact that I could stream live football in my village without any frustration had me considering the unthinkable: moving back to the village and working from home. Safaricom, which boasts of the largest network coverage in Kenya, has nothing on Airtel where I’m from. This isn’t just an upgrade for me — this is a milestone for Airtel, a network that’s been playing second fiddle to Safaricom for years. Airtel’s stepping up, and I’m here for it.
Of course, there’s still one small hurdle before I pack my bags — power. Reliable electricity in the village is still a luxury. Power outages can last days or even weeks, and I’ll need a solid power backup solution if I’m going to work from home full-time. I’ve got my eyes on the EcoFlow River Pro series, but if anyone’s got suggestions that won’t make me bankrupt, let me know in the comments.
So here’s the twist: Airtel, the network I once swore off, is back in my good books. And not just because they’ve improved — they’ve outdone the supposed giant, Safaricom, in my neck of the woods. Could this be a sign of things to come? Maybe. All I know is, for the first time in a long time, Airtel is on top of the game in my village, and Safaricom might want to take notes.
