Why You Should NOT Subscribe To An ntel Data Plan

The company that claims to be the fastest 4G internet provider in Nigeria offers a very poor connection. You won’t even get up to 20-day usage of their 30-day plan as the network will be unstable at various intervals and render the internet service useless.

The UNLIMITED PLUS plan now rebranded as the UNLIMITED EXCLUSIVE on ntel official website costs N25,000 and is valid for a month. I can assure you that you won’t get the value for even half of the month.

ntel, of course, is one of the quite popular 4G network providers in Nigeria with coverage in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt.

ntel’s rise to fame

ntel penetrated the market and cracked a huge nut with their WAWU sim card and juicy offer in 2017. Then, you could get 12GB of data for just N1,000 and still enjoy a superfast internet speed.

As expected, the offer earned ntel a large number of subscribers as the SIM would work in any 4G enabled device and phone. In no time, the disruption by ntel began to pose a threat to other carriers and BOOM! – the party ended for ntel as the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC ordered the withdrawal of the WAWU sim from the market.

The fall

ntel returned to its regular plans and with some of its WAWU beneficiaries transiting along with them. It continued to serve well until an internal crisis affected the network stability in 2018. Apparently, there was a shake-up in the company’s administration which led to the exit of some major players. This went on for weeks, leading to a mass defection of subscribers away from the network.

Well, I was among the customers that defected too. I switched to other network providers who could give me the value for my money. To be candid, I enjoyed the stability of other network providers but I wanted more.

2019, I made a switch back to ntel and we started a smooth ride that lasted only for a couple of months. We resumed our everyday calling to complain of network issues.

Omo, I wouldn’t lie, it was a tussle back and forth. One month you’re good another month is one hell of a crisis.

Fast forward to 2022, I believe this time around, it’s the height of it. I’m done with excuses that they would come around, they would serve better – it’s just a network issue.

Customer Care plays a trick on you

ntel isn’t ready to make amends – more so, they don’t even think they owe you anything – explanation or compensation. As long as you were able to browse for some days within your active month, that’s it.

I’ve reached out to their care several times and the worst part is they feign ignorance of network issues. Like, they’re so sure the network is fine and they want to walk you through some network settings – as if you altered anything (note: this is just to buy time and appear as if they’re making effort to fix the problem! On top of it all, you’re just being played on your own hard-earned airtime). If you have some airtime to burn, here is ntel customer care number, 070068355483 call them now!

When you call and state your complaint, the next thing you’ll hear is; “let me walk you through your device settings.” You don’t want to be told how to change your settings when all you want is something fixed. That’s an attempt to waste your time.

Ntel customer support employees are an interesting bunch. Out of curiosity, I spoke with them and found two agents I really resonated with. In 2021, one of them revealed that there was a disagreement in the company – marketing and admin were in a dilemma over company affairs. When I asked why this might affect the network, he simply said, “you won’t understand”.

Okay, I went further to ask about the customer support agents – I was really shocked. My guy said those ones just don’t do anything. “They just listen to your complaints and that’s it! The only reason you should call in is when you have to activate a data plan or you’re having payment-related issues. Every other issue doesn’t count, including network issue”, he said.

According to my friend at ntel, at a time, many of the support agents worked from home. In other words, you’re calling someone in the comfort of their home to help you with an issue he is not even aware of (network issue).

I understand the need to get unlimited access to the internet with no cap but the question is: what is the essence of the unlimited when it can’t be accessed when you need it? That’s the case with ntel – to crown it all, the speed isn’t as fast as advertised. I can confirm that the maximum you’d get is 2 to 3MBps.

Exactly what Fisayomi said, you won’t even exhaust your data because it will only work for a few days within your active plan.

Apparently, an ntel advocate is synonymous with a devil’s advocate – so don’t try to be one here or anywhere else.

Conclusion

At this point, if you still feel you should give ntel a try, no problem – N25,000 is not even up to the minimum wage, you can gamble with it. if you lose, you lose and if you win, you win. On the other hand, if you’re the type that is always accountable for every naira spent, don’t even go there. Just subscribe to a stable network you’re used to or ask people around you for a network with stable internet.