Last week, I hastily switched Internet service provider to Wi-Tribe. They are new in town, and provide Wireless Broadband Internet through the WiMAX technology.

Faithful readers may remember that I had already been using Wireless Broadband Internet services from Wateen Telecom. They also offer a similar, which I had been using, WiMAX service.

I switched because I had been having issues with Wateen’s service. I faced no problems as far signal strength or area coverage is concerned. However, the latency in their network, which is introduced by their outrageously, needlessly complex NAT configuration, directly impacted the overall Internet experience. Also, their occasional, unannounced down-times, though bearable earlier on, started to become an annoyance. Additionally, the requirement of verifying credentials every time the CPE powers up and connects with a nearby base station, in order to be able to use Internet, did not sit well with me (I have heard that for an additional cost, one can apply for a static, public IP address, which gets rids of the fore-mentioned requirement).

With Wi-Tribe, I am currently using a 512-kbps package with an 8-GB modest cap. The tariff prices are almost comparable to those offered by Wateen. The latency is considerably lower. I do not have to verify or log in at all in order to use Internet. The Motorola CPE is slim, and almost completely silent. In contrast, the Motorola CPE I have for Wateen WiMAX groans like a Boeing 747 engine during take-off.

Though secondary, but with my previous provider, I had been having issues with Mail.app and my various IMAP accounts playing well together. Almost all of the day, I would have the email client cry at me about how it couldn’t fetch email, or synchronise the mailbox. It had started to get on my nerves. Thankfully, with Wi-Tribe, I am facing no such annoyances.

Wi-Tribe touts a 67% area coverage in Karachi. Luckily, my area is thoroughly covered. The CPE in one corner of my closed room registers 100% signal with excellent strength. The customer care and sales representation who I had dealt with at the franchise and later met at my home where he had come to install the service, was absolutely benign and fun to chat with. My experiences with Wateen in that respect were utterly unpleasant. The Wi-Tribe outlet, at a walking distance from my home, is nothing short of being haute — it won’t probably do justice to not make a passing mention of the rather hot staff they have there.

It has hardly been over two weeks since I got the service. I am content with it so far. I am keeping my fingers crossed that things only see the prettier side of the coin from here on.