My preferred network providers in Nigeria.

Hello, everyone.

If anything like the big fan of a particular network providing company exists, then that must be me. I was born into a family that patronizes and supports Airtel with all that they have, and I was not an exception. You will not believe I have four SIM cards, and all of them were Airtel; that is how much of a fan I was. Imagine just leaving your house to go and buy an Airtel SIM card, not because you even need it but just because your friends have more SIMs than you, but my mistake was buying an Airtel SIM card whenever I do that.

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We have at least four network providers that I can think of, which include Airtel, MTN, Glo, and Etisalat. There might be more, but these four are the most famous and the most used in the country. The truth about using any network provider in this country is that you must prepare your heart and mind for the fluctuations that come with that particular network. Some are mild, and you can handle them, and even if they happen, they do not last more than an hour, while network fluctuations for some of these network providers are a habit, and they are known for it, for example, Glo.

I have a friend who uses a Glo SIM, and back then at home, before he could take or make any calls, he had to stand in a spot at the football field, and the moment he moves away from that particular spot, his network ceases, and whatever he was doing becomes an issue. Sometimes he just drops his phone there and comes to meet us where we are seated while whatever he was downloading continues to download. I always tease him with that because why use a network that will put you through so much stress? If he is at home, you can never get him; he does not go online when he is at home. We continued to tease him until he finally got an Airtel SIM too, and I was glad I got him to patronize my favorite network providers.

Today I don't really think I have any preferred network providers anymore after what Airtel did to me early last year when I was in school during the holidays. My lodge was almost empty because students had traveled home; it was just me and a few people who I don't even talk to. It was a Thursday morning, and I woke up and both my phones and all four Airtel SIM cards did not have network; the network bar was totally empty and was showing emergency. I was thinking it was the usual network fluctuation that happens for at most an hour, but I was shocked when it went on for like 5 hours. It was at that point I realized that I was in for a long ride.

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There was no way to contact anybody and ask for help. I needed to eat. All the people I was close to had travelled no one to meet and ask for a hotspot so I could at least make a transfer and pay for something to eat. I was hungry that day till around 4pm when the Airtel network was restored. I almost passed out, and that evening I rushed to buy an MTN SIM card because if I had an MTN SIM, I would have been able to pay for something to eat because MTN had network and was working perfectly that day. At the moment I don't think I have a preferred network anymore; just provide me with the network needed to get the thing I need to do done. Though Airtel data prices are quite better than that of MTN, I use both to avoid experiencing what I experienced twice.