Super Connectivity

Tonight we are at a presentation by TIGO, our mobile provider. I addition to copious amounts of free drink and food they are here to promote their 4G service which has just arrived in Mwanza.   

  

  They have recently expanded out from Dar Es Salaam, to Tanga, Arusha, Moshi, Mgorogoro and now Mwanza.  

   
   

In fact we have been on the 4G network for a couple of months now and it is fast. Our connectivity had gone super fast and videos, downloads and Skype/ Facetime calls are so much smoother. Our upgrade has been free so it’s been a good deal all round. Obviously this is still Africa and sometimes we lose connection but it’s so much better than before.  

Disconnect

Mwanza is actually quite connected. There is a relable if slower connection to the outside world here. 

Yes it takes a few hours to download an episode of Dr Who and a movie might need to be downloaded overnight but it can be done. It’s even possible at times to stream live TV here with a little buffering and we can make FaceTime calls with little disruption (Skype has been a little more problematic but not impossibly so!). 

Here in Mwanza we tend to communicate on our 3G connection rather than a fixed line rental which is much more expensive – our phone signal is more reliable and faster than the other options. 

Catching up on news or sport  (formally via News /Sports apps) or friends /family ( informally via Social Media / What’s App /Text) is a doddle most of the time. Writing and posting the blog has been straight forward.  

All of the above is true until you leave Mwanza. As we have traveled  in recent months we have realised that outside of the big towns connectivity drops fast. Our recent trip to Kigoma is an example. Once out into rural Tanzania ythere is no connectivity for hundreds of kilometers – once in town the connection is good but over a very limited area. 

This was certainly true of Kigoma last week. Our base at Jakobsen’s Beach was internet free throughout. My blog posts and general connectivity were limited to the trips to town and actually it was quite refreshing. 

I tmrealise how much time I spend connecting (formally and informally) – out here in the ‘wilds of Africa’ it has been good to remain connected to the UK to keep a small part of the UK here in Tanzania, but for a week we were disconnected for much of the time and able to enjoy unencumbered the beauty of our surroundings, the wildlife, the tranquility. We played card games, talked more and relaxed on the beach. Digital devices were strictly stand alone.

    
    
    
    
    
  

Reading a book (ibook)

  
   

As a connected person I found it strange not to know what was going on elsewhere at first but actually quite liberating too.

Perhaps we all need to be more disconnected for a time.

Hidden Costs

T Minus 86

Moving abroad isn’t cheap!