Smile is one of the fastest 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) internet service providers in Nigeria today. Smile Telecommunications Holdings is a multinational company that provides 4G LTE mobile broadband networks that are in the 800MHZ band. In 2007, Smile Holdings was founded in England (Smile Group) and has several subsidiaries, including Smile Nigeria, Smile Tanzania, Smile Uganda, Smile Democratic Republic of Congo, and Smile South Africa. Smile Communications provides reliable, high-quality internet connections that are superfast and highly affordable for over 300 million customers worldwide.
In 2014, Smile officially launched its 4G LTE internet services in Lagos, Nigeria, the first of its kind in West Africa. Partnering with Ericsson, Smile Communications began a three-year LTE network deployment project, deploying transmission and Ericsson’s Packet Core solution in over 1,100 LTE sites across Nigeria. On January 26th, 2021, Smile communications completed its latest upgrade of its Core Network Expansion. This upgrade enables customers to enjoy high-speed internet services to make super clear internet calls, video calls and also makes for improved download and upload speed.
Brief History of Smile Nigeria
Smile Communications was founded by Irene Charnley. Irene Charnley, a South African, born on May 6th, 1960, is a social entrepreneur, trade unionist, and businesswoman; she is a widely respected Telecoms visionary. Irene is instrumental in transforming MTN (Mobile Telephone Network) into one of Africa’s most respected telecommunications operators. Charnley brings a wealth of strategic, business development, and operational experience in the telecommunications arena from her top executive positions held within the MTN Group.
Before MTN, Irene was an Executive Director of the industrial conglomerate Johnnic Holdings. Charnley was the brain behind founding the National Empowerment Consortium, which was made up of 50% black business owners and 50% black African laborers. On January 1st, 2021, the group announced the retirement of Charnley, and the announcement took effect on January 15th, 2021. She is 63 years old and enjoying her retirement.
Smile Nigeria Data Plans and Bundle Prices
Smile offers a wide range of data plans that suits individual purchasing power, all for the same excellent browsing experience. Smile data bundles are divided into daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly data plans.
Daily Data Plans and their Prices
This range of data plans is valid for only 24 hours (1 day). It is suitable for carrying out research projects or conducting surveys. However, the plan offers a sizeable amount of data for an affordable amount that would not hurt your pockets. Categories of data under daily data plans include;
- 1GB Flexi Daily: This allows subscribers to enjoy a fast internet connection with data worth 1GB, which expires after one day. This plan is believed to be mostly enjoyed by students in higher institutions or people of the lower class.
- 2.5 GB Flexi Daily: 2.5GB worth of data valid for one day for a token is worth smiling about. Customers who want to download the latest movie do not need to worry about how large the movie is.
- 3.5 GB Weekend: This plan is for subscribers that are too busy during the week and want to connect with family and friends during the weekend. It offers 3.5GB of data valid from Friday to Sunday.
| DATA PLAN | PRICE (N) |
| 1GB Flexi | 300 |
| 2.5GB Flexi | 500 |
| 3.GBWeekend | 1530 |
Weekly Data Plans and Prices
This category of subscriptions is short-term with a validity period of 7 days (1 week), and they offer a fair amount of data for customers to enjoy. The following are the weekly data subscription plans that Smile offers.
- 1GB Flexi Weekly: This subscription plan offers IGB worth of data with a validity period of one week. This is a good plan for casual users of the internet, especially customers who want to keep in touch with loved ones on social media.
- 2GB Flexi Weekly: With this data plan, you can keep in touch with loved ones and still have leftover data to download a few tracks. The plan offers 2GB worth of data for 7 days.
- 2GB Midnite Plan: This plan offers customers 2GB of data valid for 7 days but can be used from 12 Midnight till 6 AM. Late-night crawlers have an open season.
- 3GB Midnite: This allocates subscribers with 3GB worth of data for 7 days to be used from 12 AM – 6 AM.
- 6GB Flexi Weekly: This data plan offers internet geeks 6GB worth of data for 7 days. This can be used day and night. Smile gives customers reasons to smile with a cheap and superfast internet connection to keep in touch.
| DATA PLAN | PRICE (N) |
| 1GB Flexi | 500 |
| 2GB Flexi | 1000 |
| 2GBNite | 1020 |
| 3GB Nite | 1530 |
| 6GB Flexi | 1500 |
Monthly Data Plans and Prices
Monthly bundle plans are for all devices, smartphones, laptops, iPhones, computers, and other gadgets. This bundle is suitable for regular data users who access their social media handles and surf the web without excessive downloads. The data bundles are available below.
- 1GB (Gigabyte) Small Lite Bundle: This is the smallest of the monthly data bundles, and with this plan, you get 1GB for ₦1000. It is valid for 30 days and has a maximum internet data speed of 2Mbps. This plan is suitable for everyone but is mostly believed to be best suitable for higher institution students who use data strictly for academic purposes.
- 2GB Small lite: This plan, just like the first one, has a maximum data speed of 2Mbps, valid for one month, and it gives you 2GB for ₦2000. The plan is best suited for users who intend to surf their social media handles and for learning.
- 3GB Bigga: This bundle offers 3GB worth of data to be used within 30days. This plan is best suited for customers that make use of social media handles frequently.
- 5GB Bigga: This plan offers subscribers 5GB worth of data for a validity period of 30 days.
- 8GB Bigga: The 8GB data subscription plan offers a high-speed internet connection worth 8GB for a validity period of 30 days.
- 10GB Bigga: This plan is suitable for business establishments that share data with other colleagues at work. It offers 10GB worth of data for 30 days.
- 12 GB Bigga: Internet subscribers who stream videos on YouTube and other social media platforms have a reason to smile about as this plan offers 12 GB for 30 days.
| DATA PLAN | PRICES (N) |
| 1GB Small Lite | 1, 000 |
| 2GB Small Lite | 1, 200 |
| 3GB Bigga | 1, 500 |
| 5GB Bigga | 2, 000 |
| 8GB Bigga | 3, 000 |
| 10GB Bigga | 3, 500 |
| 12GB Bigga | 4, 000 |
| 20GB Bigga | 6, 000 |
| 40GB Bigga | 10, 000 |
| 100GB Bigga | 18, 000 |
| 130GB Bigga | 19, 800 |
Smile Nigeria Yearly Data Plans and Prices
This category of data plans has a validity period of 365 days (one whole year). This plan is suitable for family houses that want superfast internet connection all through the year. With this plan, your household or business establishment is saved the discomfort of interrupted internet connection. The following are plans in the yearly data plan;
- 15GB: This plan is suitable for supermarkets and small or medium business enterprises; the plan offers 15GB for one year.
- 35GB: This data plan is suitable for big business establishments such as Bet shops and outlets.
- 70GB: This plan is highly suitable for banks that share data with a large audience working in the same institution or for router service providers within a certain region.
- 125GB: This huge amount of data can be used by large cyber cafes and digital centers that provide internet services to the general public.
- 500GB: This amount of data is used by large media houses such as television stations, radio channels, and ministries.
- 1 TB: This is the most expensive data plan of the yearly plans; it allocates one terabyte (1000MB) of data for one year. This plan is suitable for government agencies, big banks, and corporations.
| DATA PLAN | PRICE (N) |
| 15GB | 9000 |
| 35GB | 19,000 |
| 70GB | 32,000 |
| 125GB | 50,000 |
| 200GB | 70,000 |
| 500GB | 100,000 |
| I Terabyte (1TB) | 120,000 |
Other Data Plans
These plans are off the radar and offer value for money while giving a large amount of data for that superfast internet connection that Smile offers to its esteemed customers. Their validity is from 2 – 4 months. Data subscriptions under these categories include the following;
- 90GB Jumbo: This data subscription offers 90GB worth of data with 60 days (2 months) validity. This offers services to customers such as bloggers and internet geeks.
- 160GB Jumbo: This plan offers customers 160GB of data for 90 days (3 months). Government parastatals are subscribers to this plan.
- 200GB Jumbo: This is the apex plan in this category; it offers 200GB data for 120 days (4 months). This is suitable for schools with advanced computer laboratories and internet-providing services. Research institutes can subscribe to this plan and enjoy internet service at its best.
| DATA PLAN | PRICE (N) |
| 90GB Jumbo | 20,000 |
| 160GB Jumbo | 34,000 |
| 200GB Jumbo | 40,000 |
Smile Unlimited Data Plans and Prices
Internet speed is what defines unlimited data. An unlimited data plan means there is no cap on data usage, i.e., the more data used, the slower the internet connection becomes; it also provides uncapped internet access. This plan offers a large amount of data for users who consume a lot of data to browse for a validity period of 30 days. It offers a data speed of up to 6Mbps (megabytes per second) and no data throttling. Unlimited data plans are subdivided into;
- Unlimited Lite: This data plan has a data speed of up to 8Mbps that will reduce once 25GB of data has been used. Customers could recharge/top-up to return data speed to 8Mbps and enjoy the new experience of surfing the World Wide Web.
- Unlimited Essential: This plan offers great value for the nightcrawlers that stay up late surfing the internet. The plan allows for 50% data usage during the day and 50% during the night. Night usage commences from midnight to 6 AM. Data speed of up to 8Mbps will reduce once 30GB of data has been used during the day or night.
- Unlimited Premium: This plan has no data limits up to 3Mpbs. With the premium version, you have 4 Mbit/s until you reach 80GB of usage.
- Unlimited Platinum: The Unlimited Platinum is the highest unlimited plan; it ensures that customers enjoy super-fast, super reliable internet for as long as they want by offering data speed of up to 6Mbps, with no data, with no throttling of data speed.
- Freedom Night Booster: This data bundle is strictly for usage during the night. It offers unlimited internet services from 12 Midnight till 6 AM. There are two categories in this plan, and they are the 3Mbps and 6Mbps plans. This bundle is best for nocturnal, mostly active at night. The plan becomes unusable during the day. Both plans are worth N2,000 with a validity period of 30 days.
- Freedom 6Mbps: This plan allows customers to enjoy uninterrupted data supply with 300GB FUP (Fair Usage Policy) for 30 days at up to 6Mbps.
- Freedom Anytime Booster: This is another type of subscription plan for customers; it allows for unlimited internet for a period of 30 days. This plan suits business owners and subscribers who work consistently on the internet, such as bloggers and writers. The aforementioned data plans have been tabulated below:
| DATA PLAN | PRICE (N) |
| Unlimited Lite | 10, 000 |
| Unlimited Essential | 15, 000 |
| Unlimited Platinum | 17, 000 |
| Unlimited Premium | 19, 800 |
| Freedom 6Mbps | 20, 000 |
| Freedom Anytime Booster | 6, 000 |
| Freedom Night Booster | 2, 000 |
How To Check Smile Data Balance
Checking your smile data balance is as easy as it gets. Follow the instructions below to learn how to check your smile data balance;
- Purchase a Smile internet router (SMIFI)
- Visit www.smile.com.ng/
- New customers are to register username and password
- Confirm account via the email sent to your mailbox
- After authenticating account
- Click on Login (input username and password)
- Choose a data bundle plan that suits your needs
- Then view the ‘My Smile Account’ dashboard
- There on the dashboard, you will be able to view my Smile On data balance and manage data usage.
What States Does Smile Operate In Nigeria?
Although Smile Communications coverage is not readily available in the whole 36 states of the country, its coverage continues to expand rapidly in Nigeria. With a presence in the communication sector since 2014, Smile is currently seven years old in Nigeria and is available in the following Nigerian cities Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt, Onitsha, Ibadan, Benin City, Kaduna, and Asaba.
Smile Nigeria is positive of wider coverage, especially as the company uses the SuperFast 4G LTE. Smile considers its 4G the best and calls on users to patronize the network. Smile has different types of routers and MiFi available in its coverage areas for customers to buy and experience the network’s high-speed internet service.