Note: these tests should not be considered as a full reference of the two operator's networks, rather they expose what to be expected.
The speed tests were performed indoor, outdoor and in a moving vehicle to showcase different scenarios. But performed with the same handset.
These two screen-shots above are from an indoor speed test. 63513, standing for Tigo network (still wondering why folks from Tigo didn't put the name of their network instead of the code numbers), shows faster download speeds (1.491Mbps) compared to R-cell network (0.619Mbps = 619Kbps). These tests are the highest download speeds achieved after 3 tests for each network.
On these two screen-shots from an outdoor spot (Tigo on the left and MTN on the right), MTN showed some kind of stability. Surprisingly I had too much difficulty to achieve 300Kbps on Tigo's 3G.
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Finally in a moving vehicle (30 to 60km/h), speeds fell under 300Kbps which is not really a surprise with a moving handset.
Overall, after several tests, MTN 3G network looked relatively constant on its speeds (500-700Kbps) while Tigo could offer peaks of up to 2Mbps.
There has been an improvement inTigo's network from last year,but MTN still has the advantage of a fairly good 3G coverage in Kigali.
The imminent Airtel will, with no doubt, bring a new generation of mobile network. Just as Rwandatel brought 3G network (MTN had to follow right after), and Tigo came with 3.5G (I'll let you guess what MTN did after that).
Airtel might come up with a HSUPA (High-Speed Uplink Packet Access) network branded 3.75G, which is an upgrade on the Uplink (connection from the handset to the tower/antenna) of the HSDPA 3.5G network. Airtel already deployed this network in some countries in Africa where it is operating.
But hey! Why not a 4G right from the start :) . Unofficial news are stating that the operator is deploying a new generation of equipment with LTE (Long Term evolution) compatibility.
Answers on the launching day.
Tigo beats the competition hands down.
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