Netflix Streaming Issues In Nigeria And Solutions

Quite Lengthy, scroll down & read the embolded part for the crux of the article (For lazy readers) As we all know, Netflix is now accessible in Nigeria for a price of about N2,600. For those who don't know, Netflix is an American VOD platform that offers high quality video streaming of TV series, movies, documentaries and other shows. Netflix also offers mail DVD rental services in USA. Netflix is the biggest VOD provider in the world. The other major ones being Amazon and Hulu. Netflix video streaming works on mobile devices, smartphones, game consoles, smart tvs and computers, among others. Before now, Netflix streaming services were restricted to only a handful of countries such as USA, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, UK, etc. However, with the recent expansion of the company to new countries, we have been able to access premium Netflix streaming services in Nigeria. Before now, Nigerians relied on DSTv and IrokoTV in other to view movies and TV shows/series. Some Nigerians accessed websites such as O2TvSeries, MobTvSeries, FzTvSeries, FzMovies, etc, in other to download movies and TV shows/series. A handful, like myself, have been accessing Netflix in Nigeria before now using a VPN or other tunneling solutions. With the latest development, we can access Netflix directly and smoothly. However, we have a series of problems with Netflix in Nigeria. For one, Nigerian mobile networks do not offer unlimited data plans. Most of our data plans are capped between 1gb-3gb which is too small to stream anything even on YouTube. Netflix streaming takes approximately 700MB-1GB per hour, depending on the quality of video. Nigerian data plans cannot work efficiently with Netflix except Data plans are capped at at least 50GB per month (which may not even be enough) or made unlimited. There are also a few mobile networks/ISPs/Wifi providers who roll out "unlimited data" plans or cap their plans as from 20GB and above. These plans are expensive to get for Nigerian youths who form the bulk of internet users. Aside the problem of data plans, we also have speed issues. Most Nigerian Networks have their downloading speeds pegged at 200Kbps-500Kbps. In fact, it is so bad that some Network's 4G LTE speed do not go beyond 1Mbps. Even at this low speed, there is no stability! Most internet users will notice that when they are downloading, speed constantly fluctuates from 1Kbps to 500Kbps often with peak periods at MIDNIGHT! This is so bad! In saner Nations, internet speed is at least 3Mbps at its slowest and most, like Comcast in the USA, get up to 100Mbps. Netflix requires atleast 500Kbps in other to stream without rancour. Any speed short of this will meet the user waiting for an eternal buffer! Even the 500Kbps is for Netflix at its lowest quality. At its highest HD quality, it requires a speed of atleast 5Mbps to stream without rancour. Most Nigerian Networks NEVER peak 5Mbps except on rare occasions and even at it, it wont be stable. Apart from the data plans and speed issues, Nigeria also have electricity issues which may hamper the development of Netflix. Netflix streaming consumes alot of battery strength and so devices using Netflix such as Laptops and other Mobile devices must be charged frequently in other to enjoy the full Netflix experience! Other than electricity, we also have issues as regards payment! At the interim, Netflix in Nigeria uses US based payment processors and because of the CBN recent policy against the use of Naira denominated cards on Foreign transactions, we may not be able to pay for Netflix. This is truly a saddening development. Most of the new Netflix users in Nigeria have already signed up for trial accounts and when that expires, they may have issues reactivating their subscriptions. Apart from the CBN policy, conversion rate is another problem. Personally, my Netflix account is domiciled in Amsterdam, Netherland. Because of this, I use the Euros for payment. When I paid last, it cost me about N1800 or thereabout. Netflix in Nigeria primarily uses the dollar and the conversion rate is at its most terrible period and because of this, Nigerians will pay more in the Naira as opposed to what is obtained if paid in Dollars. The GOOD NEWS is that these problems can all be tackled and that is the main aim of this article. The first issues I raised are on data plans and internet speeds. Like I said earlier, apart from Wifi operators and a few ISPs, unlimited data is simply unavailable in Nigeria. However, this has changed in the past week!!! . Etisalat Nigeria and Airtel Nigeria have reeled out Netflix Streaming Plans that offer UNLIMITED data on a time-based platform. See details as follows: 1. Airtel: Enjoy online streaming at N180/1 hour, dial *439*4# 2. Etisalat: Enjoy online streaming at N400 for 2 hours, dial *229*3*5# -The only MTN UNLIMITED plan I know of is available ONLY on MTN Hynet which is about N5,000 per week and N35,000 per month. Those exploiting illegal avenues can use MTN BB10 Plans or MTN 4.5GB plan for N2,500 per month. -Visafone also has a 1 TB (virtually unlimited) plan on Blackberry for N1000 but since the company has been bought, I dont know if it is still available. -For Glo, there is NO UNLIMITED PLAN that I know of so the best bet would be to purchase their high end elite plans ranging from N20,000 to N5,000 depending on their data cap. Visit hsi.glo.com for more. These plans have unofficial speeds apart from that of MTN Hynet which is pegged at 5-10Mbps. The other plans fluctuate between 500Kbps to 2Mbps on a good day and this is okay for seamless streaming. On the issue of electricity, it is best to purchase a powerbank as backup because Nigeria's electric supply is erratic and cannot be banked upon anywhere. Since CBN has banned Nigeria's Naira denominated cards from foreign transactions, the best bet is to get a Paypal account (open to Nigerians as well) and fund the account. Apart from Paypal, we can also get a Virtual Credit Card online (Google it) and fund it easily from Nigeria. If you have friends and relatives abroad, you can beg them to pay for you as well. Another solution is to open a Dollars account and request for a Dollars denominated credit card from your bank. You can also seek for persons in Nigeria with Dollars denominated cards and pay them to pay for you. Finally, you may call Netflix customer care (see website) and ask for alternative means of payment such as Western Union or Money Transfer. On the issue of currency rates, there is no solution to that except the economy gets better. However, those who can signup with VPN and tunnelling software should change their IP to that of Netherlands, Canada, Columbia and other countries whose currencies are better than the Dollars in relation to the Naira, and signup from there. After the signup, you can continue accessing Netflix with your normal Nigerian IP seamlessly! . I recommend using Psiphon as the tunneling solution. On a final note, Netflix in Nigeria has come to stay and it is a good development for us in this age of Internet TV! Let us embrace it wholeheartedly and also remember to support our indigenous IrokoTv when in need of Nollywood movies! These services come only for a small token and the benefits are innumerable. On the average, I see about 3-5 movies daily or a whole TV series on Netflix when I am not reading books. I hope this article helps us to engage in positive entertainment with ease!