May 18th, 2007
Free wireless in Nairobi
Posted by
Ory Okolloh in
Kenya, Technology
Apparently KDN is offering free wi-fi in Nairobi (think it’s a promotion for their Butterfly product). It’s supposed to last through the end of the month. If you have a wi-fi enabled laptop, PDA etc. just search for the essid butterfly and connect. They are supposed to have around 100 access points in Nairobi.
EDIT: Riba and Bankelele, where did you try and connect?
EDIT 2: Article on the wi-fi offer.
on May 19th, 2007 at 14:27
Has anyone connected? I’d like to know what kind of speed it gives too.
on May 20th, 2007 at 14:07
[...] ; Telecoms, Technology Kenyan Pundit announces free wi-fi in Nairobi, Kenya: “Apparently KDN is offering free wi-fi in Nairobi (think it’s [...]
on May 21st, 2007 at 1:16
Found a strong signal at 2 points, but was not able to connect
on May 21st, 2007 at 1:47
I got a signal too but couldn’t connect.
And their website does not provide sufficient info. on loging in.But will keep trying. (www.butterfly.co.ke)
on May 22nd, 2007 at 5:51
i tried to log on sometime last week but couldnt. Don’t let the word “free” fool you, its just short of “freedom to communicate …”. you have to subscribe to one of their providers or something like that and “pay”. http://www.butterfly.co.ke/index.php?active_page_id=1 check out the right hand of the site that says “all about butterfly”
on May 22nd, 2007 at 6:45
Though i can see the Butterfly link on the list of available wireless connections, on hitting connect, it does not go past the “Waiting for the network….”.
Has anyone managed to connect?… for free that is….
on May 22nd, 2007 at 6:45
Hi
KDN Butterfly is an experience of a lifetime upto 10mb of capacity on wifi…. downloaded all movies…..Kindly get in touch with KDN to experience the freedom!!!!
on May 22nd, 2007 at 6:46
Hey connected at two different spots..good speeds..nice..i think the service is freee for now but requires a username and password…when free service stops
on May 22nd, 2007 at 7:07
Its not only in NBI but also in MSA. I am currently on Butterfly in MSA for free.
on May 22nd, 2007 at 7:16
At NHIF towers and in the CBD
on May 22nd, 2007 at 7:32
Hi Ory,
I am using butterfly on Msa rd..
If anyone has an issue on using the butterfly, kindly send an email to support@kdn.co.ke,with your phone contacts and we will get in touch with you for resolution..
on May 22nd, 2007 at 11:41
I tried in the CBD , at Lyric House.
Will get intouch with support and enjoy this freedom;;
on May 22nd, 2007 at 12:27
Hi
Let me answer all the connection queries….
First and foremost the heading should be FREE INTERNET ON THE WIRELESS KDN CLOUD BUTTERFLY
If you dont get a signal, please move to a Butterfly zone can find this on http://www.kdn.co.ke..
If you cant connect.. contact support@kdn.co.ke
Please note this is wifi and not dedicated lines. if you dont get a signal move to a wifi zone where you will get the signal… WIFI can be compared to GSM , whereby if you dont get connection on your phone. you move where the signal/ reception is better…
For those who asked about capacity ronnie already answered your query.
For coverage Town is Mombasa, Kisumu and Nairobi CBD , Westlands.
ENJOY !
on May 22nd, 2007 at 17:27
Does anyone know what the average monthly price on this thing will be?
on May 25th, 2007 at 8:16
OK I have tried at the Junction (Ngong road), I have tried in Westlands, I have tried at The Chancery (Valley Road) but nada, can not even get an IP address. I can see Butterfly in the available Wireless Networks, but can not connect. Of all of us at Skunkworks on Tuesday none of us had been able to get on.
KDN people what is going on? It looks like only KDN people on here are the ones that can actually connect to the service.
on May 25th, 2007 at 15:05
Hi there and glad to have found this blog. Ill be back and hope to see yuou around.
on May 25th, 2007 at 19:03
I’ve connected a couple of times in South B. Connection not particularly stable though
on May 27th, 2007 at 0:20
I did an interview by phone with Kai Wulff who is the Managing Director of KDN late last year and got some information about this in response to a post I did about KDN. I promised him I would blog about but procrastinated on for way too long. I might as well share what I know from talking to him here.
The major caveat here is that this information is more than 4 months old and their business model may have changed.
According to what I took away from my discussion and email conversations with Mr. Wulff, KDN’s Butterfly will not be absolutely free for ever - BUT - it will be free for
- all local content: anything in the .co.ke space will be available for free
- all educational content - anything from an educational domain - (.ac, .edu etc) should be free as well.
There also seems to be a big push to cover most of Nairobi with wifi - the objective when we spoke was to cover 80km^2 especially in areas with higher population densities. Pricing was to move to much more reasonable levels as well - I cannot find the email now but will post it as soon as I find it.
All in all, pretty cool stuff.
- Steve
on May 31st, 2007 at 10:01
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on June 27th, 2007 at 9:16
i want to get onto the butterfly train..i want to buy a laptop for that but all i can afford is a p2 with 266mhz processor,16mb ram, 10gb HD. it has PCMCIA ..someone tell me if its powerfull enough..ama you tell me the entry level of the laptop i can use
on June 27th, 2007 at 9:36
and whats the difference btw those isps charging 500/= and those charging 5000/=…am a novice bear with me
on June 29th, 2007 at 10:41
manze i have visited most of the isp’s that are supposed to be offering butterfly but most are either lukewarm about the service or patronisingly try to divert you to another they offer. one in mombasa road is talking about pulling out…another on university way has already pulled out…only skyweb at NSSF are optimistic……BUT THEY CHARGE TOO MUCH…am yet to visit “Net at Home”and Spot Africa
the way i see it KDNare better off selling the product themselves..trevormont@yahoo.com
on July 26th, 2007 at 5:29
Hi guys, am told KDN has now partnered with Nandos(mobil on the run) and they will provide free WiFi internet at their eateries. The services is up and running now. Contact the management/staff for more details. Great speeds too
on November 21st, 2007 at 4:38
Been able to connect at Java (Adams Arc. and Junction). Speeds not consistent but rather okay.
on July 16th, 2008 at 2:42
Guys could someone give me the procedure of setting up the thing. I wonna joion the butterfly train too. I am at S/C near mobil mombasa road and in the evening at donholm is any of these places hot? Cheers!
on August 4th, 2008 at 12:12
Does anyone know if there should be butterfly at Nairobi Dam area along langata road? Next to Uchumi Hyper. I very rarely see butterfly among my networks. KDN guys told me they will cover the area soon. How soon do you think this can be?
How does one connect to Mobil on the Run? I can see a 2 sticks strength on my laptop but it fails to connect. Do I need to configure anything? Isn’t an area like Langata Shopping center(Nairobi Dam) supposed to have butterfly? I wonder when KDN will ever cover this area. How soon can they?
on October 23rd, 2008 at 10:06
Can someone just give a procedure for connecting after seeing the existence of a butterfly network. Believe me I can get upto 54Mbps at greenfields but the nearest Access point as far as I know is the JKIA Cargo area. Just outline how I can go about pliz!