In January 2022, I wrote a post about internet providers in the DRC. I thought it was time to update it with only a few that I use regularly. Apologies if some others are missing. I have not used them.
Without further ado, here are the results of tests done using fast.com on the 27th of September in Kinshasa (Gombe/Ngaliema/GB area) of Canalbox (best speed!), United (2nd place), Vodacom (3rd) and Airtel (4th).
| N | ISP | Location | Time | Type | Shared | Download (Mbps) | Latency unloaded (ms) | Loaded (ms) | Upload (Mbps) | Server |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canalbox Premium | Ngaliema, Kinshasa | 15:00 | Fiber | No | 47 | 7 | 150 | 7,4 | Brazzaville, Johannesburg |
| 2 | United | Gombe, Kinshasa | 14:16 | Fiber | Yes | 25 | 4 | 121 | 48 | Secausus, US |
| 3 | Vodacom | Gombe, Kinshasa | 14:10 | Operator | No | 4,9 | 0 | 60 | 15 | Johannesburg, ZA |
| 4 | Vodacom | Gombe, Kinshasa | 14:13 | Operator | No | 4,4 | 0 | 263 | 7,4 | Johannesburg, ZA |
| 5 | Airtel | Gombe, Kinshasa | 14:10 | Operator | No | 4 | 51 | 1200 | 7,7 | Luanda, Angola, Fortaleza, Brazil |
| 6 | Airtel | Gombe, Kinshasa | 14:13 | Operator | No | 1,4 | 46 | 2100 | 8,9 | Luanda, Angola, Fortaleza, Brazil |
Speed ranking (average) – 27/09/2023 – Mid-day tests
- Canalbox Premium – 47 Mbps (download) – UNLIMITED DOWNLOAD
- United – 25 Mbps (download) – Shared connection – UNLIMITED DOWNLOAD
- Vodacom – 5 Mbps (download) – LIMITED DOWNLOAD
- Airtel – 3 Mbps (download) – LIMITED DOWNLOAD
IMPORTANT NOTE : Even though Canalbox came first, perhaps United would have been on top if I had not shared the connection.
To be honest, I mostly use United and Vodacom. Support from United is excellent but speed is not constant and at least once a day the connection drops of a few seconds or minutes.
I will keep you posted on Canalbox over the next few months but for now it seems to be the best offer in terms of price and speed.
Note that Canalbox does not put its fiber underground like United but aerially so installation is much simpler.
However, if a thunderstorms hits or a tree or someone cuts your connection, you have to wait for someone to repair it.
Also, fiber lines to DRC sometimes get cut for repairs or due to theft or general damage. It is better to have a backup line like Vodacom and Airtel when the main fiber line is cut.
Price analysis
| Ranking | ISP | Download speed from test | Package | Stated speed | Price USD | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canalbox | 47 Mbps ∓25% (approx) | Premium | “50 Mbps” | 89 | /month | 25 USD installation |
| 2 | United | 25 Mbps ∓75% (partagé, approx) | Esengo | “50 Mbps” | 190 | /month | 100 USD installation |
| 3 | Vodacom | 5 Mbps ∓50% (approx) | NA | NA | 100 | /210 GB/month | No installation |
| 4 | Airtel | 3 Mbps ∓50% (approx) | NA | NA | 100 | /200 GB/month |
Disclaimer : Results may vary. Independent study/tests. Not sponsored by any ISP.
Emilio in Congo (DRC) 
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