Wi-Fi hotspots are the next best thing for internet users who don’t want to commit themselves to “on the go” mobile broadband plans like those dongles that work sometimes and not sometimes. They also serve as that crucial backup internet when your usual office or home connection (or Dongle-wanaland itself) shakes you off the network for hours and your ISP seems in a hurry to not fix it. In short, they serve a great purpose in our local connectivity ecosystem.
We were delighted therefore to learn that the ISP known now to provide the most stable WiMax based internet (but quality comes at a price) is expanding its offering to include Wi-Fi hotspots. Called MAXspots, Utande’s Wif-Fi hotspots have so far been installed at 7 locations in Harare, and, according to Dandemutandec customer services manager, Sue Bolt (who told us on Facebook), several more are in the process of being implemented.
The hotspots are accessible vouchers and the pricing (very comparable to their competition) is both time and data based. Basically this:
| Voucher | Cost |
| 30 mins | $1.00 |
| 60 mins | $2.00 |
| 100MB | $5.00 |
| 500MB | $20.00 |
| 1GB | $35.00 |
So far, the ISPs that have taken a deliberate approach to having Wi-Fi hotspots around the country are YoAfrica, ZOL and Telco.
SMH. Such a pity that they all roll out just in Harare. Saturating each other out of business.
Isnt there a flaw…for the first two time-based vouchers, what happens if one uses 150MB for the 60min voucher? Or are these capped? Or made slow to ensure they never reach 100MB? How does this one work?
Id like to know the exact same thing coz if they give us the uMax speeds I get when I use their service, I could easily get 200mb within that 60min voucher.
chilli spot rocks ( YoAFrica)