How to Price Hotspot Vouchers for Maximum Profit

Voucher pricing is the single biggest lever on your hotspot's profitability. Price too high and customers walk to the next hotspot; price too low and you can't cover the bandwidth bill. Here is the framework we recommend to operators on Connect-ISP.

1. Start from your real cost per GB

Take your monthly internet bill and divide it by the number of gigabytes your customers actually consume. Most small hotspots in Uganda land between UGX 700 and UGX 1,500 per GB once you account for contention and wastage. That number is your floor.

2. Build tiered plans, not one price

Different customers value different things. A boda rider wants 30 minutes to send mobile money; a student wants a full evening of study. Offer at least three tiers:

• Quick — 1 hour, capped speed, UGX 500
• Daily — 24 hours, UGX 2,000
• Weekly — 7 days, UGX 10,000

3. Use price anchoring

When the weekly plan sits next to the daily plan, the weekly looks like a bargain even though it earns you more per shilling of bandwidth. Always show your best-value plan beside a smaller one.

Operators who switched from a single flat price to three tiers saw an average 28% revenue increase in the first month.

4. Review monthly

Bandwidth costs change, competitors open and close. Check your cost per GB and your top-selling plan every month and adjust. Connect-ISP's analytics dashboard shows revenue by plan so you can see which tiers are pulling their weight.