Telecommunication in Madagascar

Hey,

we have Blueline. They promise 512k via 4g for 109000 Ar per month.

They deliver mostly, but not always. Around 5pm, they get unbearably slow, which is predictable so its ok. However they have periods of several days when they are unreliable all the time (like the last two days). This sucks, if you work on the net like myself, you're out of work.

All friends with Blueline say the same, so it's not my modem or bad coverage.

Moov from Telma costs about the same, and is supposed to be just as bad. This provider called "Life" is supposed to be better for a similar price, but it's hard to find information about them.

Orange is leagues better, but infinitely more expensive (pay per data volume ... )

It looks like Madagascar is to remain the country with the world's most expensive internet! yay!

Yes, internet sucks here

A propos bad internet: Can anyone recommend a browser for an unstable internet connection?

My limited experience tells me that Firefox is better at resuming downloads after a typical 5-minute Blueline connection break than for example Chrome.

But now I tried to upload a 500MB video file. Even with Blueline at its best, it would take around 20 hours. I just had to restart it for the second time, and I'm starting to doubt that I can ever share with my friends back home how we sang "We Are The World" last Friday night

Does anyone know a browser that is able to resume even uploads? Thanks

I can not recommend browser because I only use Firefox. But there could be a solution: you could ask managers in cyber-cafe to upload (or download) something for you without you being there during the process. You give them your file and e-mail and pay them something - and in a day or so they send you a link to your file uploaded somewhere, at depositfiles.com for example.

Kozavr,

Is it, however, possible to go to internet cafe and get good fast connection?

I am a copywriter and need only to send emails and Word attachments plus some Skype and browsing time.

What does one pay/hour for a fast internet cafe connection?

Thanks much.

Terence

Welcome to the club of the frustrated copywriters of Antananarivo!

You do get fast connections, in internet cafés as well as at home with wireless broadband like moov or blueline (that is usually what the cafés use, too). However, there are days with lagging connection and total blackouts; then you get much less done than usual. Frustrating for you and your clients.

Do you live in Tana? What language do you write in?

Fastest connection I've ever seen here is 60kB/s. It's enough for e-mails and Skype, though. The average price is around 1000Ar per hour. Maybe they have 1 or 2 cyber-cafes that have very fast internet, IDK.