The following are a list of FAQs
 GENERAL
What is the difference between Habari connection and mobile phone companies?
We both offer wireless internet access. We offer fixed wireless internet access and they offer mobile wireless internet access that allows you to roam from one point to another. Some phone companies offer fixed wireless internet access as well. Additionally we do not connect users using phones.
You say you provide wireless connection, why do I need to buy wireless radio while my laptop has wireless capability already?
The wireless capability in your laptop is meant to be used to connect to an access point either internal to your home / office network or a hotspot at a hotel, conference room, airport, etc. It is normally not used to connect directly to an Internet Service Provider.
Why is my connection slow?
Several factors can slow down or make your internet connection slow. Here we are just mentioning a few:
- There is a connectivity problem from your home/office to our end. Could be your radio signal is weak, or cable has degraded, or an equipment is faulty or we are just experiencing other problems that affect multiple users. In this case contact us.
- Your bandwidth needs are higher than the bandwidth service plan you are subscribing. Look at your usage graphs to get an idea. If you are continuously saturating (exhausting) your bandwidth then you should consider upgrading.
- You are running applications in the background, like windows and antivirus updates, which need to connect to the internet. These applications are legitimately consuming your bandwidth but you probably should schedule them to update at times when you least need to connect to the internet, example in the evenings.
- You are infected by viruses / malware and they are illegitimately consuming your bandwidth.
- You or someone in your network is running a P2P application. A P2P application like bit torrent is used to share files (music, movies, software) on the internet. These applications tend to take precedence over HTTP (browsing) traffic. If the applications are not properly configured they can literally consume all your bandwidth. You should run these applications at times you least need to connect to the internet, like at night. Ensure that they are not running in the background.
Can you tell me what each user is doing in my office network?
No we cannot unless we are responsible in managing your network and have the right tools installed in your network. Our demarcation point is the first device that we connect, that is the device that we assign our IP. It could be a router, a modem, a gateway server, or just a PC.
Are you using fiber optic cable in Habari network?
Yes we have deployed fiber in some sections of Arusha city and are still expanding our network using fiber. Habari is also connected to the outside world using fiber optic … from Arusha to Dar and then using Seacom and EaSSY undersea fiber cable to connect to the rest of the world.
Kindly refer to the service page for more details.
Can you give me Internet through my mobile phone?
Not at the moment. We offer DSL, Satellite and fixed wireless internet services only. Kindly refer to the service page.
Do you have cPanel or any other web interface for administering my website?
At the moment you can only use FTP to manage your website. We are in the process of installing other tools that will help users in administering their websites.
What time does off-peak service begin and end?
Off-peak service is available on:
- Work days: - From 6pm to 7am the next day
- Weekends: - From 2pm on Saturday to 7am Monday
- Holidays: - fully available during the acceptable holidays in Tanzania.
Do you issue static or dynamic IP’s and public or private IP’s to your clients?
We issue static, public IP’s to all our subscribers.
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CUSTOMER SUPPORT
What is the procedure when I report a problem?
Generally the procedure is to contact our Customer Support desk using either phone (even SMS) or email. Upon receiving your notification, we will open up a ticket, determine the nature of the problem and forward it to the appropriate technician if it cannot be resolved immediately by the customer support staff attending you.
If a technician needs to visit you, we will call you back or write back to you (whichever is appropriate) notifying you when a technician will be able to visit you.
When I need technical support can I call a technician directly on his / her mobile?
We strongly discourage clients from calling technicians directly on their mobile numbers. We prefer you call our customer support desk instead and we will arrange for a technician to visit you soon. Calls made directly to technicians in many cases are not logged (no ticket is opened) and in this case it is difficult for us to keep track of client issues. Also calling technicians directly disrupts their concentration and work schedule. Imagine having 5, 10, 20 clients calling a technician directly in a day would be. Definitely chaotic!
When I report a problem how long should I expect it to be resolved?
Generally we attempt to resolve most connectivity problems within 8 work hours from the time they are reported. In some occasions we might take more time if dealing with intermittent problems, problems with a complex nature, or problems caused by our upstream providers.
When you report a problem or when we inform you of a problem we will usually attempt to give you an idea of how long it will take to resolve it.
Why do you ask me to turn OFF/ON my radio/modem /router?
Many electronic communication equipments tend to either malfunction or simply cease to work because of being ON for a long time. Simple solution is to recycle power. But if after recycling power you still notice connectivity problems, then let us know because the problem could be somewhere else.
Can you help us to find a problem in our LAN?
Yes we can help you find a problem within your office network. We may either offer you the service free of charge or will charge you on an hourly basis depending on the nature of the task.
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SALES
I need Habari’s internet connection at my residence / office. What is the ordering process?
- Contact us by either phone or email using contacts on our website. In your correspondence, try as much as possible to clarify your physical address. We will then arrange to do a site survey to determine if it’s possible to connect you and how to do so. If it’s possible for us to locate your site, we will then send a technician for the survey otherwise we will ask you to pick a technician from our office.
- If it’s possible to serve your area, we will send you a quote. Upon making the required payment(s) we will schedule for the installation.
After making the required payment(s) how long will it take to connect me?
Usually it will take between 2 - 5 working days from the date of payment. For wireless connection, it may take up to 2 weeks if we have to construct a tower.
In very rare occasions we have problems meeting the above targets due to shortages in stock caused by delivery delays of new stocks. In such occasions we will notify the client and if possible suggest a temporary solution.
I have X number of computers in my office. How much will you charge me per computer?
We don’t charge per computer. A single computer could consume bandwidth that would be sufficient to serve 3, 5, 10, etc computers and it is therefore not logical for us to tag our prices against number of computers. We tag our prices against Kilo bits per second (Kbps) we provide in each bandwidth service level (plan).
I would like to test your connection before I subscribe your services. Is this possible?
We offer very good services and are very sure we can fully meet your needs. We therefore don’t encourage this option. On the other hand, if we fail to meet your expectations due to problems on our end, we are very much willing to refund some or the full amounts depending on at what stage you terminate the service.
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BILLING
Why can’t I be given a tax invoice before payment?
Any time you issue a tax invoice it means you have collected tax on behalf of the tax authority. If for some reason a client defaults on payment against that invoice, you still have to remit the collection even though you have received nothing from the client. We initially issue a Demand Note and when you pay we issue you a Tax Invoice / Receipt. So we are just cautious.
On the other hand, if you must have a tax invoice to enable you process the payment we will definitely issue it to you.
Why don’t I get bills, payment reminders or service notification emails from Habari Node?
We probably have the wrong email address in our database or someone else within your organization is receiving the bills, payment reminders and service notifications but is not forwarding them to the appropriate person(s).
We get your email address (es) when you initially register for service. In the course of time, addresses or people within the organization change but we are not notified. Whenever contacts change or people responsible for receiving the bills and notifications change we should be notified.
Kindly write to billing@habari.co.tz if you are not receiving your bills. In your email provide the correct email addresses we should use.
Why are we receiving email reminders to pay our bills while we have already paid?
Such reminders are sent to all users. At the bottom of the reminders, we kindly ask you to discard the email if you have already paid your bills.
Are you going to call us before disconnecting services for non-payment of bills?
Unless specified by the client, we send all bills and reminders by emails. This is the preferred method. If we feel you are not receiving the emails then we can call. But it is still the customer’s responsibility to make payments on time.
What day and time can I pay my bills?
Our offices are open from 8:30am to 5:00pm Monday through Friday. On Saturday they are open from 9am to 1pm. The cashier window is open during this period to receive payments.
Your system was down for several hours. Why should I pay for those hours?
Kindly refer the Service Level Agreement for the answer.
I think I deserve some refund for service disruptions. Why is the credit not reflected in my current bill?
Kindly refer the Service Level Agreement for the answer.
I will not be able to pay my bill on time for XYZ reason. What should I do?
If possible, visit our office and meet with our accountant to agree on a date upon which you will make the payment. Or send us an email with the reasons and the date which you will make the payment and we will decide on way forward and let you know.
I was connected on the 10th day of the month. Will my next payment be the 10th of following month?
For that particular month we will bill you on a prorated basis, that is, we will bill you for the days since you got connected to the end of the month.
Can I pay in Sterling Pounds, Euros or other currency other than US Dollars and Tanzania shillings?
We only maintain US Dollar and Tanzania Shillings accounts and therefore prefer to be paid in either US Dollars or Tanzania shillings.
You sent me the bill in US Dollars but I would like to pay in Tanzania shillings. What exchange rate should I use?
Kindly use the exchange rate indicated in your bill.
I will be on safari; do I have to pay for the unused days? OR I was on Safari and did not use Internet, do I have to pay?
No you don’t have to pay for the unused days as long as you notify us in advance to suspend your account during the period you are on Safari. If for some reason you failed to notify us, we will only consider your request if we can prove that you did not use the service during the period requested.
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BANDWIDTH
I am a new client and I would like to know which bandwidth level will be enough for me.
We have different bandwidth service levels (plans). If the connection is for your home use or small office, we recommend that you start with a low bandwidth level (like Single Computer Service or Service Level A) and assess it for a week or a month then gradually upgrade to a higher level.
How do I access my usage graphs?
If you need to access your usage graphs please contact us and we will provide you with a username and password to access the graphs. Once you receive the credentials, go to our website and scroll down to ‘Quick Links’. Click ‘Your Internet Traffic (Members only)’ then enter the credentials (take note both username and password are case sensitive), the date you prefer to begin to view the graphs (must be a past date or today and MM/DD/YY date format) and the number of days then press ‘Get graph’. Wait for a moment while the graphs are being compiled and presented to your browser.
I have accessed my usage graphs but I do not know how to interpret the graphs.
The most important graph to understand is the upper graph. The X-axis represents time (hour or day). The Y-axis represents level of bandwidth usage at a particular time either in bits per second, Kilobits per second, or Megabits per second.
The blue graph represents outgoing traffic (traffic from you to the outside world) and the green graph represents incoming traffic (traffic from the outside world to you).
About the numbers below the graphs:
- Total represents the total volume you have transmitted (blue) and received (green) during the period queried.
- High represents the highest speed reached during the period in question. Blue – upload / Green – download
- Avg represents the average speed during the period queried. Blue – upload / Green download.
I am attempting to access my usage graphs but the link is not working or the graphs are blank. Why is this happening?
Once in a while we have to turnoff some or all features of our bandwidth manager, which generates the graphs, for maintenance. During this period the link to your usage graphs might not be functional or you find the graphs to be blank. In this case attempt to access the graphs at a later time.
Can Habari limit bandwidth usage of individual users inside my LAN?
No we cannot unless we install a bandwidth management appliance in your LAN.
How does HabariPlus work? Do I need it?
- HabariPlus and how it works
HabariPlus is a value added service to all users who are not on dedicated bandwidth. HabariPlus allows a user to exceed throughputs / speeds that a user is paying for as long as user’s daily volume and monthly volume is under a set limit. For example, if you are paying for a service level that offers you 110/110 Kbps, with HabariPlus your throughput / speed will be boosted up to 1000 / 1000 Kbps (1 Mbps) as long as your daily and monthly volume (download and upload combined) does not exceed, for example, 100 MB and 10GB respectively. The moment your daily or monthly volume limit is exceeded, a notification email will be sent to you and speeds will be reduced to exactly what you are paying for, that is 110 / 110 Kbps.
When your daily volume limit is exceeded, HabariPlus will be deactivated for that day until the next day. Once your monthly volume limit is exceeded, HabariPlus will be deactivated for that month until the first day of the next month.
- Now do you need it? Will I lose connection when HabariPlus limits are reached?
Yes we think you need it. First of all it is free of charge. Secondly, it allows you to do what you have to do on the internet faster, and lastly, once the HabariPlus package expires it does not disconnect your subscription but rather lowers your bandwidth to what you are paying for. You lose nothing being on HabariPlus. On the contrary you gain a lot.
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EMAIL
How do I change password for my Habari email account?
If you need to change yourname@habari.co.tz email password, visit our website, scroll down to ‘Quick Links’ click ‘Habari Web mail’ then enter your username and password. Your username is the first part of your email address. For example if your email address is ilove@habari.co.tz then your username is ilove.
Once you are logged to the webmail,
- click Options (located at the top)
- click ‘Change Password’
- Enter
- Current password (password you are currently using)
- New password (password that you desire to use)
- Confirm password (retype the password you entered in the New Password field)
- Then click ‘Change Password’
Note: Make sure you create and use a strong password.
What is the best way to do e-mail while traveling?
There are several ways you can access your Habari e-mails while travelling:
Webmail is good if you are traveling without a computer. You can go into any internet cafe, bring up the Habari website, click on Webmail, and read and write your mail. Webmail has its inconveniences:
- Can be slow sometimes. It sometimes takes a long time for each email to open.
- May take a long time to send
- You have to be on line to use it.
- E-mail program such as Outlook, Thunderbird, Pegaus, etc
If you are travelling with a laptop, or if you are staying in one location and have access to the same computer each day, it is better to use an email client to access your emails. This offers you the convenience of downloading and sending emails in the background while working on other things.
One problem with this option is you might experience difficulties sending emails. Refer to FAQ : “Why do I experience problems sending emails from my Habari email account while travelling or using another ISP internet services?”
- Forward your Habari emails to one of your free web based email address like Gmail, yahoo, hotmail, etc. Check out FAQ: “How do I forward my Habari email account messages to my other email address like (Gmail, hotmail, yahoo, etc)?”
How do I set auto-reply message for my Habari email account?
Visit our website, scroll down to ‘Quick Links’ click ‘Habari Web mail’ then enter your username and password. Your username is the first part of your email address. For example if your email address is ilove@habari.co.tz then your username is ilove .
Once you are logged to the webmail,
- click Options (located at the top)
- click ‘Auto Response: Reply or Forward’
- Put a checkmark against ‘Reply’
- Type in a subject of your preference in the subject field – like “Out of Office”
- If you don’t like the message in the message body then edit it
- Then click ‘Finish’
How do I forward my Habari email account messages to my other email address like (Gmail, hotmail, yahoo, etc)?
Visit our website, scroll down to ‘Quick Links’ click ‘Habari Web mail’ then enter your username and password. Your username is the first part of your email address. For example if your email address is ilove@habari.co.tz then your username is ilove .
Once you are logged to the webmail,
- click Options (located at the top)
- click ‘Auto Response: Reply or Forward’
- Put a checkmark against ‘Forward’
- Put checkmark on ‘Keep a copy here’ if you wish to maintain a copy of the forward email in your Habari account. By default it’s always checked.
- Then click ‘Finish’
Why do I experience problems sending emails from my Habari email account while travelling or using another ISP internet services?
We do not allow our customers to send emails using our standard email servers while connected to another ISP (local or foreign) for security concerns. Most ISP’s have a similar setup.
If you need to send emails using our servers while connected to a different ISP, contact us and we will give you credentials for connecting to our secure mail server. We need to authenticate all users who are sending emails through us but from other ISP’s.
The other alternative is for you to use SMTP (outgoing) address of the ISP you are connected to while travelling. Thus you will have to contact that other ISP to get the address details.
What are Habari’s PoP (incoming mail) and SMTP (outgoing mail) addresses?
The addresses are:
- PoP (Incoming mail) : mail.habari.co.tz
- SMTP (Outgoing mail): smtp.habari.co.tz
Note: This only applies to users with yourname@habari.co.tz addresses. Users with own domains will need to contact us.
Does ANM ever lose e-mail?
It is very rare to lose emails. It could happen though if the mail server crashed and we failed to restore the emails from backups but that has never happened before to us. If that happens we will inform all users.
When people ask if mail was lost, we usually find that there was a human error by the sender. The message came back and they didn't understand that either:
- it was undeliverable because of a bad or wrong address, or
- the mail WAS received by the organization but was misplaced by a human (not a computer).
If mail is undeliverable then it is usually returned to the sender -- assuming that the sending and receiving servers are following standard Internet protocols.
When people have a problem, they often ask, "Is the server down?" When a mail server is off or down, mail doesn't get lost; rather, it is spooled (saved) for trying later. At some point the sender is informed that it hasn't been delivered but it is still being tried. After a certain amount of time the mail is returned to the sender if it can't be received by the recipients’ mail server. The server retries to send the message every hour, and after 4 hours it automatically informs the sender the mail is still pending. After 24 hours the server stops trying to send the email and notifies the sender that the mail is undeliverable.
What is the maximum size attachment I can send? / (What should I consider when sending large attachments?)
The maximum size of an attachment you can send through Habari is 10 MB. If your attachment is bigger than 10MB either:
- divide the file into smaller segments, or
- compress the file(s) using Winzip or WinRar or any other appropriate compression tool, or
- use FTP to send the file, or
- use a web based file sharing service to upload your files like:
Note: Once you upload the file(s), your recipient simply receives a link from which to download the file(s).
What is the maximum size of myname@habari.co,tz mailbox?
The maximum size of your @habari email account mailbox is 300MB.
What will happen if my mailbox is full?
Just before it is full you will receive a notification email that your mailbox quota is almost full and that you should free some space by deleting old emails. If you do not respond to that instruction and your mailbox gets full, emails destined to your address will bounce (that is undelivered).
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