Glo 4G — benefits, frequency band, settings and bundles

Globacom is the second largest telecom operator in Nigeria, by virtue of its large subscriber base. The Glo 4G service allows users of the network access to super fast broadband speed.

This speed is affirmed by organisations and users alike to be effective in the places which the operator has coverage over.

But for the emergence of Glo’s 4G service, the swift in network speed wasn’t usual of the telco. The popular telecom operator has a widely criticized 3G and 2G network service. Subscribers in places where no 4G signal couldn’t be obtainable had to trade the cheap data value offered for its slow network.

In fact, the cheap data offers by Globacom are gifted to subscribers to offset the inconveniences experienced while using the telco’s data service. The data plans offered by Globacom are reasonably value-packed, and undoubtedly better than the ones offered by other major telcos in the country.

Nevertheless, widely known for its cheap data pricing, the indigenous brand brags of being the first telecom operator in Nigeria to have brought 4G to the country in 2016. The gesture was emulated almost immediately by the remainder of the major telcos in the country. That is why as at today, all the major telcos in the country lays claim to having a 4G service in its network. And these LTE services are only noticeable in crowded cities and not nationwide as these operators claim.

The Mike Adenuga owned operator right from onset of operations in Nigeria has been pacesetting in its service delivery and infrastructure haulage. The popular Glo-1 communication cable, a broadband cable which links Nigeria through UK is a worthy mention. The cheap data and international voice offering from Globacom is partly due to the operator’s investment in the cable. Thinking why a submarine cable rather than satellites is used to provide cellular and broadband signal through different continent? It is the cheapest of the two, and easiest to repair in the event of breakdown than through satellites.

Glo 4G – Issue of frequency

Globacom’s LTE service started in an interesting tone. Interesting in that while other telcos went for popular frequencies, the indigenous operator opted for a queer 700MHz broadband frequency.

Broadband frequencies are bands of radio frequencies set aside for the transmission and reception of broadband signals. A comprehensive understanding of how it works is portrayed in the reception of signals on a portable radio sets. Once a user tunes into a needed frequency, he listens to the needed information.

This then means that a radio station transmits information at a specified frequency, and radio set owners who care to listen to the information tunes to it. If the radio set is replaced by mobile phones, and radio stations replaced by Mobile Network Operators, MNOs, one could easily see that receptivity of a broadband signal relayed at a specific frequency would depend on compatibility of devices — the mobile phone.

Now ordinarily you would expect mobile phones to be like radio sets — a device which has the convenience of resonating multiples of frequencies. This would have inflated cost, a condition phone makers wouldn’t rejoice over. That’s why devices comes compatible with few frequencies.

Some smartphones intended for the Nigerian markets seems not to be compatible with the band 28 (700MHz) frequency Glo uses for its 4G. The few that support the frequency are majorly flagships from their producers. Maybe the telco has their eyes on covering wide locations given that lower frequencies allow carriers to provide coverage over a larger area, while higher frequencies allow carriers to provide service to more customers in a smaller area.

Admitting the inconvenience, Globacom’s Group Technical Director, Sanjib Roy, stated that the carrier considers transmitting its LTE service in the popular 1800 band this year(some subscribers have alleged that GLO has finally began transmitting its 4G service on the 1800MHz band, although there’s no official statement by the operator to back this.).

According to Sanjib, the LTE would be rolled out “in major cities to increase our 4G LTE penetration and allow higher handset adoption …“. The popular telco also made a promissory of a conceptual launch of 5G in the 700mhz band before the year elapse. However the implementation of these promises made earlier in the year seems unlikely given the toil the sector has witnessed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The benefits of Glo 4G

The main bone of contention when 4G is considered is speed.

Glo avers that with its LTE protocols, a faster download and upload data speeds is achieved. The operator illustrates the swiftness of the service in its claim that a 1GB movie download is possible within a few minutes instead of hours, while a 3MB music file download is obtainable in a few seconds instead of minutes.

Streaming of ultra high definition videos with no buffering inconvenience is also one of the benefits the operator says could be gotten if one switches to its 4G service.

Glo 4G service requires a compatible device

As stated earlier, a device compatible with Globacom’s band 28 (700MHz) could be receptive to their 4G signal. If your device is an expensive one, you have less worry about this. Most flagship devices come compatible with many frequencies, which is quite how it should be considering their price.

Checking the 4G band, as well as other technology bands of your smartphone could be done online by searching with the right keywords. Alternatively, you could ascertain the compatibility of your device by sending the keyword 4G to 400 with your Glo line. An SMS reply would deliver a verdict on your device’s compatibility.

Despite the outcome of the reply, checking the cellular bands of your device online is more assuring.

Steps towards being on the LTE service

Switching to Glo 4G from an hitherto bearable 2G or 3G service isn’t as tedious as many have alleged. The major task being possessing a smartphone compatible with the carrier’s band 28 frequency, all left to do is:

• Obtain a LTE SIM or swap your existing SIM from a Gloworld outlet. The 4G branded subscriber module could as well be gotten from card vendors.
• You need to be in a location which Glo’s 4G infrastructure covers. (Supported locations for Glo’s 4G would be explained as you read-on)
• Purchase a Glo LTE bundle (this as well has been comprehensively explained below).

It’s this simple.

Please note that you won’t need to inform a Glo representative for a 4G service activation, as claimed by some websites. A ‘4G’ indication would automatically appear on your device navigation bar upon the fulfillment of the above listed conditions.

Glo LTE Locations

Glo claims it has 4G services in various locations across all states in the country. Due to the fact that telcos regularly add to their 4G locations, it might rather be unnecessary listing the various Glo 4G hotspots.

For any subscriber, the best way to ascertain whether a location is covered by 4G is to inquire from the network carrier. This could easily be accomplished by sending a direct message to their online representatives or by dialing their toll free number — 121 or 151.

Glo 4G bundles

All Globacom data bundles could be used on its 4G network. There is no independent data plan meant specially for each generation of technology.

Dial *777# to access the catalog of Glo data plans or more conveniently scower the bundles to personal liking using your set metrics on a dedicated webpage made just for you!

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