Centipid ISP Billing Review for East Africa: Features, Pricing & MikroTik Integration for Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania & Rwanda

Finding the right ISP billing system is one of the most consequential decisions an East African internet service provider will make. The wrong choice means manual payment reconciliation, delayed reactivations, subscriber churn, and an operations team drowning in WhatsApp messages from frustrated customers. The right choice means a fully automated billing cycle, instant mobile money reconciliation, and a network that manages itself — freeing you to focus on growing your subscriber base.

Centipid ISP billing is one of the platforms specifically built for African ISP operators, with native MikroTik RouterOS integration and mobile money payment support across East Africa. In this review, we break down Centipid's core features, its mobile money coverage for Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda, how it integrates with MikroTik, and what type of ISP it suits best — so you can make an informed decision for your operation.

What Is Centipid ISP Billing?

Centipid is a cloud-hosted ISP billing and subscriber management platform built for African network operators. It is designed to automate the full subscriber lifecycle — from onboarding and invoicing through payment collection and automatic service suspension and reactivation — integrated directly with MikroTik RouterOS via the RouterOS API. Centipid targets small to mid-sized ISPs across East, West, and Southern Africa who need billing automation without the complexity or cost of enterprise-grade BSS/OSS platforms.

Core Features of Centipid for East African ISPs

MikroTik RouterOS Integration

Centipid integrates with MikroTik routers via the RouterOS API. Once connected, Centipid can:

• Create and manage PPPoE subscriber secrets directly on the router when new subscribers are onboarded.
• Create and manage hotspot user accounts for venue-based Wi-Fi deployments.
• Assign subscriber bandwidth profiles (simple queues or queue trees) per plan tier.
• Terminate active sessions and disable subscriber accounts automatically when invoices go overdue.
• Restore subscriber access instantly when payment is confirmed — via API command to the router, 24/7.

For this integration to work optimally, your distribution routers need to be MikroTik RouterOS devices with the API service enabled. The MikroTik hEX S RB760iGS is the recommended primary distribution router for East African ISPs using Centipid — its SFP fibre uplink, PoE out for CPE powering, and full RouterOS API support make it the ideal concentrator. The MikroTik hEX RB750Gr3 serves well as a secondary zone aggregation router at scale.

Subscriber Management

Centipid's subscriber management dashboard gives ISP operators full visibility and control over their subscriber base:

• Add, edit, suspend, and reactivate subscribers from a single web interface.
• Assign subscribers to plans with mapped MikroTik bandwidth profiles.
• View each subscriber's payment history, invoice status, and active session details.
• Set individual billing dates — stagger billing across the month to smooth your collection cycle.
• Multi-router support: manage subscribers across multiple MikroTik routers and coverage zones from one Centipid account.

Automated Invoicing and Payment Reminders

Centipid automates the billing communication cycle that drives on-time payment and reduces churn:

• Invoices generated automatically on each subscriber's billing date.
• Invoice delivered via SMS and/or email with payment instructions.
• Automated payment reminders sent before the due date.
• Overdue notifications and suspension warnings sent automatically.
• All communication in local currency: UGX (Uganda), KES (Kenya), TZS (Tanzania), RWF (Rwanda).

Mobile Money Integration for East Africa

Centipid supports mobile money payment gateways covering all four East African markets:

• Uganda: MTN Mobile Money + Airtel Money
• Kenya: M-Pesa (Safaricom) + Airtel Money
• Tanzania: Vodacom M-Pesa + Airtel Money + Tigo Pesa
• Rwanda: MTN Mobile Money + Airtel Money

Payments via these platforms are reconciled automatically — no manual transaction matching, no MPESA statement cross-checking, no WhatsApp payment screenshots. The moment a subscriber's mobile money payment is confirmed, Centipid marks the invoice paid and sends an API command to the MikroTik router to restore their service.

Reporting and Analytics

Centipid provides ISP operators with key business metrics including Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR), Average Revenue Per User (ARPU), collection rate, overdue invoice aging, and subscriber growth trends. These reports are essential for East African ISPs to understand their financial health and identify churn risks before subscribers cancel. Access Centipid's reporting dashboard here.

Who Is Centipid Best Suited For?

Based on its feature set and African market focus, Centipid is best suited for:

• Small to mid-sized East African WISPs with 50–1,000 subscribers looking to automate billing and replace manual Excel/WhatsApp processes.
• PPPoE-based ISPs running MikroTik as their concentrator router — Centipid's PPPoE secret management via RouterOS API is its strongest integration mode.
• Hotspot operators at hotels, schools, and campuses who need subscriber account automation integrated with MikroTik Hotspot Manager.
• ISPs deploying across multiple zones who need a single billing dashboard managing subscriber accounts on multiple MikroTik routers across different locations.

Recommended MikroTik Hardware for Centipid Integration

For East African ISPs integrating with Centipid, the following hardware from NetEdge Supplies is fully compatible and recommended:

• MikroTik hEX S RB760iGS — Primary PPPoE concentrator or hotspot gateway. SFP fibre uplink, PoE out, full RouterOS API for Centipid. Ideal for ISPs with up to 500 subscribers per unit.
• MikroTik hEX RB750Gr3 — Secondary zone aggregation router. Cost-effective RouterOS API support for Centipid multi-router deployments.
• MikroTik hAP RouterBOARD with PoE — Premium PPPoE or hotspot client CPE at subscriber premises.
• MikroTik hAP lite RB941-2nD — Budget CPE for entry-level plan subscribers.
• MikroTik wireless routers — Wireless distribution for WISP point-to-multipoint deployments.

Connect all base station and distribution infrastructure with Cat6 cabling for reliable, low-latency connectivity and stable Centipid API communication with your MikroTik routers.

How to Get Started with Centipid

1. Register on Centipid — create your Centipid account here.
2. Enable the RouterOS API on your MikroTik router(s) — go to IP > Services and enable the api service on port 8728, then create a dedicated API user in System > Users.
3. Add your router(s) in Centipid with the IP address, API port, and API user credentials. Select PPPoE or Hotspot integration mode.
4. Create your subscriber plans in Centipid and map each to the corresponding MikroTik bandwidth profile or PPPoE profile.
5. Connect your mobile money gateways (MTN, Airtel, M-Pesa) in Centipid's payment settings.
6. Add your subscribers, assign plans, set billing dates, and go live.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)