Safaricom offers a lot of internet products. It keeps churning out new ones for its customers, and in late 2022, it launched 5G services alongside 5G Wi-Fi. This adds to 4G Wi-Fi that has been around for some time now. There is also Home Fibre, but what’s the difference between them?
Home Fibre
Home Fibre is the most popular of the three. It offers fixed wireless internet to Safaricom customers who are within Fibre covered zones (check here for coverage). It is also a home product, meaning it serves ordinary people in their homes, and not businesses (although there is Fibre for business). It has garnered 373k household connections so far (as of December 2022).
To connect, just call Safaricom customer care, and they will fix everything for you (call 400). They will come and do the installation for free. You will also get a router for free.
However, if you lose the router (like leaving it behind when you move), then you will need to pay 6500 for a new one.
Pricing starts from KES 3000 for an 8 Mbps connection and goes all the way to KES 12,500 for 100 Mbps.
| Package | Speeds (Mbps) | Price | Fair usage limit | Speeds after FUP (Mbps) |
| Bronze | 8 | 2900 | 500 GB | 1 |
| Silver | 20 | 4000 | 1 TB | 3 |
| Gold | 40 | 6000 | 1 TB | 3 |
| Platinum | 100 | 12000 | 1 TB | 3 |
4G Wi-Fi
Safaricom 4G Wi-Fi is a product for customers who are not covered by Home Fibre. These are people who are far away from major urban centres where Home Fibre is available.
Considering Safaricom 4G coverage is at 97 percent or more in 2023, it makes sense why this product exists, but not many people are aware of it. All you need is 4G coverage.
The rest is easy: just buy a router (at 10K), and a Safaricom rep will connect you. Set up is easy because this is not fibre. Pricing starts from KES 3000 where you get 90 GB of data valid for 30 days.
| 4G Package | Price (KES) | Data Volume (GBs) | Validity |
| Bronze 4G Wireless | 2,999 | 90 | 30 days |
| Silver 4G Wireless | 4,100 | 120 | 30 days |
| Gold 4G Wireless | 6,299 | 200 | 30 days |
| Diamond 4G Wireless | 12,499 | 400 | 30 days |
Unlike Home Fibre that needs a fibre infrastructure, all you need here is a 4G connection to enjoy this product.
5G Wi-Fi
Safaricom 5G Wi-Fi is the same as 4G Wi-Fi, but uses 5G technology, meaning it is faster. However, in order to access it, make sure you are in a 5G-ready zone.
You will need a 5G router that goes for 25K. Plans start from KES 3500 with 300 GB of data at 10 Mbps, 40 Mbps with 500 GB of data at 6K, or 1000 Mbps with 1TB of data at KES 15K. Fair usage policy applies with throttled speeds at 1mbps for the cheapest connection and 3 Mbps for others.
Price:
| Package | Price in KES | Speed in Mbps | Fair usage volume in GB |
| Basic | 3500 | 10 | 300 |
| Standard | 6000 | 40 | 500 |
| Extra | 15000 | 100 | 1000 |
Here is a list of places where 5G is currently available.
| County | Area | Place/Estate |
| Kajiado | Oloitoktok | Ol Tukai |
| Kakamega | Sichirai | Kakamega State Lodge |
| Kiambu | Kiambu Town | Riverview estate, Golden Palm, Silver Gardens |
| Kiambu | Ruaka | Two Rivers Mall |
| Kiambu | Ruiru | Jerusalem, Mugutha, Murera, Murera Matangi |
| Kisii | Kisii CBD | Kisii CBD, Kisii Bus terminus, Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital, Kisii University |
| Kisumu | Kisumu CBD | Kiboswa, Maseno University, Lower Riat Estate, Kisumu Airport, Mamboleo Estate, Kisumu CBD, Kisumu Bus Station |
| Machakos | Kamulu | Kamulu Stage |
| Machakos | Athi River | Baraka Gardens Estate, Acacia Estate, Osoit Gardens Estate |
| Mombasa | Likoni | Mombasa Hospital, Fort Jesus |
| Nairobi | Kilimani | Yaya Centre Mall, Kiluwa Apartments, Silverstone Apartments, Yaya Apartments, Kasuku Court, Abi Allan Apartments, Mango Court Apartments |
| Nairobi | Langata | Uhuru Gardens |
| Nairobi | South C | Park View Estate |
| Nairobi | Rongai | Rangau |
| Nairobi | Westlands | Safaricom HQ |
| Thika | Juja | Juja South Estate, Murema Estate, Sunset Park, Oak Park Estate |
Currently, Safaricom has 200 5G locations in 11 counties, including Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Kisii, Kakamega, Nakuru, Kiambu, Machakos, Kajiado, Vihiga, and Siaya. It also has 5G experience centres where customers can experience virtual reality gaming zones, showcases of smart capabilities for homes and enterprises, and speed-testing booths.
To note, Home 5G Wi-Fi is not targeting residential homes only because it is available for businesses as well. It makes sense because some business applications need robust speeds and infrastructure, and Home 5G promises that with speeds up to 100 Mbps.
The telco is also offering 5G mobile data packages so you might want to check them out. Here is a summary of the allocated units and their price:
| Package | Price in KES | Data | Validity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1000 | 1000 | 15 GB | 30 Days |
| 2000 | 2000 | 35 GB | 30 Days |
| 3000 | 3000 | 65 GB | 30 Days |
| 5000 | 5000 | 100 GB | 30 Days |
| 10000 | 10000 | 200 GB | 30 Days |
