I’d been on the Airtel Unlimited 20 plan, which came with a free ZLT X25 router. The plan costs ₦30,000, is valid for 30 days, and offers unlimited data capped at 20 Mbps speed, but I needed an alternative. It got so low that it made no sense to continue the subscription. I had to fallback to other Service Providers on several occasions during my active Airtel subscription. I had tried multiple locations, so it wasn’t really a location thing. The plan was probably congested, and I wasn’t ready to upgrade to the 60 Mbps at ₦50,000 only to have the same experience.
Here are the Airtel HBB plans as of the time of this post:
| Price (₦) | Speed (Mbps) | Validity (Days) |
| 30,000 | 20 | 30 |
| 50,000 | 60 | 30 |
| 80,000 | 20 | 90 |
| 135,000 | 60 | 90 |
| 150,000 | 20 | 180 |
It sometimes took several restarts to get a stable connection or regain a lost signal. I hit the 2-2.5 Mbps region on good days, but 50-100 kbps region on bad days (which got more frequent). This couldn’t have been fair usage (I’ve heard rumours that one exists) because I was below 200GB consumption, and the speed fluctuated widely. It was time for a change.
MTN FibreX?
I learnt about MTN’s FibreX (which uses Fibre optic), truly unlimited and no Fair Usage Policy (FUP). Here are the prices as of the time of this post:
| Price (₦) | Speed (Mbps) | Validity (Days) |
| 25,000 | 50 | 30 |
| 45,000 | 100 | 30 |
| 100,000 | 300 | 30 |
I was interested, but couldn’t get it because my location wasn’t on the coverage map.
Airtel 5G SmartConnect Outdoor Unit (ODU)
I came across this, and my train of thought was along the lines of:
- Another Router
- An Out Door Unit to boost signal
- 150% faster speed for 16% less cost
- I fall within the coverage area
I’d come across some negative reviews about the Airtel ODU, but I was going to give it a shot anyway because there seems to be 3 generations of the Airtel ODU (maybe I’ll be lucky); besides, I’ve learnt not to take online reviews too seriously because:
- Some are completely vague, purchased with the wrong information/unrealistic expectation or might have used the product incorrectly
- There’s often an agenda (spite, sponsored, traffic)
- Paper specs can be quite different from real-world experience
5G SmartConnect Long Duration Plans (Unlimited)
| Bundle Offer | Price (₦) | Speed (Mbps) | Validity (Days) |
| Unlimited 50 | 67,500 | Up to 50 | 90 |
| Unlimited 100 | 121,500 | Up to 100 | 90 |
| Unlimited 50 | 125,000 | Up to 50 | 180 |
| Unlimited 100 | 225,000 | Up to 100 | 180 |
5G SmartConnect Monthly Plans (Unlimited)
| Bundle Offer | Price (₦) | Speed (Mbps) | Validity (Days) |
| Unlimited 50 | 25,000 | Up to 50 | 30 |
| Unlimited 100 | 45,000 | Up to 100 | 30 |
Purchasing & Registration
I visited a nearby Airtel distributor with my NIN, provided my information, and he took my photograph. The NIN server was down that day, so the NIN Verification step failed. I had to go back before 9 am the next day, and it went through. This was on the 6th of November. I paid ₦25,000 (which comes with the 50 Mbps plan) and was told that an installer would contact me within 48 hours.
The installer reached out on the 8th. and we fixed the 10th. for the installation. The installation was free
Speed Test
I’m quite impressed so far. 10 days in and I’ve clocked 353.32 GB. I’ve been too busy to really download, by the way.
Here’s are some other speed tests I recorded
Speedtest by speedtest.net
Speedtest by google.com
Speedtest by google.com
Verdict
It’s still too early to tell whether or not this is a good buy, but I’m very impressed by its consistency and speed so far. I regularly do 5.2-6 MBps during downloads and around 3.6-5.2 MBps during uploads. I hope to give an update after over a month of usage.
Update: Speed Test During Heavy Rains (July 2026)
The internet speed was quite bad during heavy rains. Sometimes, it would be unusable, and I would have to restart several times to get an internet connection (I’ll do a speed test in the middle of a heavy downpour and shortly after). Normal browsing and some YouTube were very OK during such heavy. Downloading and streaming were out of the question.
How does it work during the rainy season now?
Quite bad, I must say. I usually have to restart a couple of times to get an internet connection.
I have posted an update in the blog post and will do another speed test during a heavy downpour.
Are you still satisfied with the Airtel ODU.
Yes, very much. The speed has stayed consistent