Zanzibar, on any connection. Even on 1 Mbps.
Zanzibar at a glance
- Where
- Zanzibar Urban/West, Tanzania
- Population
- about 710,000
- Time zone
- Africa/Dar es Salaam (UTC+3)
- Evening viewing hours
- 19:00–23:00 local = 16:00–20:00 UTC
- Daylight
- about 11 h 46 min in mid-winter, 12 h 29 min in mid-summer
- Elevation
- about 14 m
- Nearest cities
- Dar es Salaam 74 km · Dodoma 382 km · Arusha 418 km
- Subtitle languages
- Swahili, English
Zanzibar, and the connections it runs on
Around 710,000 people live in Zanzibar; outside the centre, connections thin out quickly. Zanzibar is the capital of Zanzibar Urban/West.
Mobile data in Zanzibar
How far does a 5 GB bundle go in Zanzibar? About 8 hours of HD 720p with Silux Media, versus 3.7 hours with other media servers at the same picture quality (our measurements).
On the move from Zanzibar
The nearest other cities we cover are Dar es Salaam (74 km), Dodoma (382 km) and Arusha (418 km). On trains, buses and roads between them, quality re-adjusts every three seconds.
The closest city we cover outside Tanzania is Mombasa, Kenya (about 240 km). Watching while roaming? Every gigabyte saved matters.
Evenings in Zanzibar
Zanzibar is on UTC+3. The usual evening viewing hours, 19:00–23:00 local time, are 16:00–20:00 UTC — when networks everywhere are busiest.
Days in Zanzibar barely change through the year (about 11 h 46 min to 12 h 29 min of daylight), so the evening rush on the networks is the same every month.
Questions from Zanzibar
Can I watch my own films in Zanzibar?
Of course. Your own server holds the films; the apps for phones, tablets and TVs play them in Zanzibar or wherever you take them.
Does it work on slower connections around Zanzibar?
Yes. Silux Media plays HD from about 0.7 Mbps and keeps going below 0.3 Mbps at lower quality — built for fixed-wireless, satellite and rural mobile links.
Does it support Swahili and English subtitles?
Every subtitle and audio track your files carry is offered in the player, in Swahili and English or any other language.
What's the busiest time for streaming in Zanzibar?
Between about 7 and 11 pm local time. Quality re-adjusts every three seconds, so a crowded evening network means a lighter picture for a moment, not a frozen one.
How much mobile data does a film use in Zanzibar?
Roughly 0.6 GB for an hour of 720p and 1.0 GB in 1080p, so a two-hour film in HD fits in about 2.0 GB of your plan.
Will it work on the way to Dar es Salaam?
Yes — the 74 km trip to Dar es Salaam is no problem: the stream adapts to each mast you pass instead of stopping.
Sources: GeoNames and our measurements.