Acquiring reliable internet in Riyadh remains an ongoing challenge. Sharing my experience I have thus far tried dial up, DSL, Mobily Wireless and Orbit Satellite services. I’m now back to unreliable DSL but more on that subject shortly.
The Internet services in the Kingdom are suffering from oversubscription, poorly designed networks, outdated technology and sadly lacking in customer service. This is across the board regardless of which type of service one receives. This is further impacted by the monopoly which Saudi Telecom Company (STC) holds over the telecom industry and services. Competitors continue to arrive on the scene but the monopoly has not been broken.
Let’s look at each internet option one by one starting with Dial up. Dial up is pretty self-explanatory. One must first request through STC that the line have a data capability. It will not just happen; you must call and set up your account as such. Having dial up will allow one access into the STC data network but then you must also have an internet service provider (ISP). STC also acts as an ISP but many residents prefer to instead purchase pre-paid cards (similar to pre-paid phone cards) from other companies which provide internet service. There are a number of companies selling differing types of cards and none seem all that much better than others.
DSL is probably the most popular and in widest use. DSL is advertised as a high speed network. What I have found however in my own experience it is unreliable, has frequent outages and I have yet to receive the bandwidth for which I am paying. For DSL, one must have a DSL line which is obtained through STC (no surprises there). And again, one must also have a DSL ISP as well. This can be post paid from STC or pre-paid using DSL ISP cards. The varying charges for the DSL ISP are based on the speed and bandwidth one has requested. Even as I type this post, my own DSL has cut out two times for between 5-8 minutes at a time. Cost: Approximately 300 SAR per month.
Mobily Wireless (and Al Jawal Wireless) are based on wireless mobile technology and advertise themselves as instant high-speed wireless connectivity to the internet. One simply installs a device on their computer similar to a flash drive which contains the mobily wireless internet chip (SIM) and follow the instructions. It is easy to install. I can attest to the instant connectivity but in my experience the speed was even slower than dial up and also cut out completely quite often. The mobile aspect was convenient when traveling through the Kingdom but reliability was often catch as catch can. Cost: 300 SAR per month.
Orbit Satellite Services I found sadly to be a fiasco! Orbit does an excellent marketing job and their sales team do a good job in promoting Orbit capabilities and options. I was supposed to have been an Orbit subscriber last night but my husband and I ended up asking the technicians to leave our house instead after 4.5 hours without successfully installing the system. With Orbit, one not only can (alledgedly) receive high-speed internet with no restrictions or blocking of sites, but various tv channels as well (for an additional cost). We planned to have high-speed internet and subscribe to their selection of Western tv channels. The technicians arrived at our residence circa 1900 hours. They spoke little to no English and were clearly tired and disengaged from their work. We showed them where we wanted their satellite modem installed and they then proceeded to drill a hall through the wall of our house for stringing cables and then moved on to installing the satellite dish on top of our roof. After the dish was securely installed and they returned to the office to set up the internet, they realized they had miscalculated and placed the dish too far from where they had drilled the holes to string cable resulting in a cable shortage. To the surprise and disgust of me and my husband, the technicians asked us to reconfigure our office and move furniture around so they could try and utilize the cable and set up they had created. It did not seem to phase them that they were asking that a 600 pound safe be moved as well as other items. Needless to say we refused and demanded they fix the problem they created. All the while this was going on the technician kept receiving steady calls on his mobile which we could discern by his end of the conversation were customers calling with problems such as loss of signal, poor speed, etc. After waiting another hour to see how they would resolve the problem, we finally said “halas” (enough) and told them to take their equipment and go; we would retain our intermittent DSL instead. COST: (if we had completed the installation the charges were quoted as follows) installation: 1990 SAR. 609 SAR per month (for western tv channels and internet at 512Kbps)
Another option I can mention but cannot comment upon from direct experience is WIMAX. This is also a high speed wireless internet service. Wimax thus far is available in Riyadh from Al Bayanat and Zooom companies respectively. As I understand from phone conversations with these two companies, one requires a device similar to a router for WIMAX connectivity. Both companies advise that WIMAX is very easy to install and provides instantaneous internet. Charges can vary depending on what speed is subscribed to. I found myself convinced to try Al Bayanat as I could subscribe to high speed internet, 1GB speed and was quoted 1600 SAR for three months service and no installation charge. Unfortunately though I learned that only 10 per cent of the area in which I live had coverage from Al Bayanat and I did not live in that lucky 10 per cent. Zooom does have extensive coverage throughout Riyadh for its WIMAX service but I was a little concerned with what they advised although at the same time, appreciated the sales representative’s candor. I told him I wanted upload and download speed equal to no less than 200 kbps. He told me I would need to therefore subscribe to their 2GB service in order to be guaranteed a minimum speed of 200 kbps. And if one purchased the 1GB service, Zooom guranteed a minimum connect speed of 128 kbps. So again there was no firm guarantee of receiving the speed of service for which one is paying. Charges for Al Bayanat: WIMAX 1GB 1600 SAR for three months. (One had to pay a minimum of 3 months service in advance and then could pay month to month thereafter). Prices would vary slighty depending on speed selected. No installation charge. Charges for Zooom: 300 SAR installation. 610 SAR per month for 2GB speed.
For earlier posts which I have written about internet in the Kingdom please see:
http://delhi4cats.wordpress.com/2008/02/10/internet-via-dsl/
http://delhi4cats.wordpress.com/2007/12/29/more-on-internet-in-the-kingdom/
http://delhi4cats.wordpress.com/2007/10/18/new-internet-technology-in-ksa/
http://delhi4cats.wordpress.com/2007/10/18/internet-phone-service/
Filed under: culture, Saudi Arabia, Saudi blogs, Saudi culture, Saudi customs, travel, Uncategorized
Aside from our internet connectivity problems as you have described, we also suffer from our phone service going out inexplicably for anywhere from a couple of days to over a week at a time. The last time was for 10 days, and it finally took 3 different servicemen coming out to fix the problem. AAARRRGGGHHHH!!!
will i advice you to subscribe with any internet provider on another contruy, or you can illegally buy a satellite internet from a company other than oribit for 1200 SR or wight for 3to 5 years, so other company can enter the saudi market
Talking about your intenet conncetion experience is like adding salt to an open wound :S . My comment is only about the orbit internet connection. I had orbit at my home for about 4 years now, and it is working pretty well. Aside from being able to avoid censorship, the connection is reliable, and “fairly” fast. During periods of “outages”, customer service was always able to guide me through re setting the modem and service is usually back within 5-10 minutes. However, it remains the most expensive option in the market, but overall, they are better than everyone else.
I suggest you contact the orbit office again, and specifcally ask for a Phlippino guy whoh speaks english to re-install the service for you. Ask for the appointment in the morning so he wouldn’t be tired, and tip the guy when he comes over to make sure he is completely into the job.
Wish you continous and lasting internet service so we wouldn’t miss this wonderful blog
Thank you all for great comments and advise. As a postscript, I am very happy to say I’ve made the transition to Al Bayanat and could not be happier. We got a slightly different and better package than what I put in the original post. The bandwidth is excellent and speed incredible. We paid one year in advance which averaged to 210 SAR per month. Because we got the one year contract, installation was free. And we were able to try it for 3 days at no cost to ensure we were happy.
I remember when I was in Alaska we set up our own satellite system. I wonder if you could do that there? Get the receiver from a Western source, mount a dish or use your current one and by pass the Saudi system all together?
That is what I would try to do.
I sure don’t know, Abu Sinan!
After reading about all these internet difficulties, I respect you even more for your diligence and skill at maintaining this blog. Ditto for anyone else blogging from Saudia! Mabrook!
I dont know how tech savy you are Dehli, but I dont think there is much anyone could do if you got a set up from outside the KSA and did you own service.
If you can get a signal from one of the services out there, there is nothing to stop you from using them.
Abu Sinan,
It is a miracle at times I figured out this blog! I know you have requested photos but I’m not quite savvy enough there yet!
hmmm I have heard a lot of guys talkin abt the same problem… but the internet outages are somehow mostly is large cities..
didnt have any *major* problem yet
and a friend has tht mobily thing.. works fantastic most of the time (except at peak calling times :S)
good luck btw
Where are you located Muneeb and what kind of internet set up are you using?
Hey Delhi;
I’m a student currently visiting my parents here in Riyadh. They’ve been here for just over five years, and much like you they’ve gone through the depressing local connectivity evolution of…
Dial-up
Compound “DSL” – (utterly ridiculous)
STC DSL – (as I write this, I’m looking at the two (sadly, dark) leds for carrier wave & dsl activity).
Mobily Dongle – (what I’m currently using, though it’s led is shifting between light and dark blue almost every other minute despite full signal bars).
More than anything, I’d like to get them a solid and “decently” fast connection. I picked up a brochure in CompuMe this evening for ZOOOM WiMAX and am very curious.
(Note: My father is a big-time consumer of podcasts and I’d like to set my Mom up with a Sling Box or Apple TV here and send her her favorite tv content from the states. Obviously, both of these tasks require a fast and reliable internet connection).
I saw your follow up post on your Al Bayanat connection. After two weeks is it still as good? Does it drop out, and if so, how often? Do you know of anyone who has gotten similar results with Zooom?
Any information or tips would be very, very, very much appreciated.
Thanks,
Will
Hey Delhi;
I’m a student currently visiting my parents here in Riyadh. They’ve been here for just over five years, and much like you they’ve gone through the depressing local connectivity evolution of…
Dial-up
Compound “DSL” – (utterly ridiculous)
STC DSL – (as I write this, I’m looking at the two (sadly, dark) leds for carrier wave & dsl activity).
Mobily Dongle – (what I’m currently using, though its led is shifting between light and dark blue almost every other minute despite full signal bars).
More than anything, I’d like to get them a solid and “decently” fast connection. I picked up a brochure in CompuMe this evening for ZOOOM WiMAX and am very curious.
(Note: My father is a big-time consumer of podcasts and I’d like to set my Mom up with a Sling Box or Apple TV here and send her her favorite tv content from the states. Obviously, both of these tasks require a fast and reliable internet connection).
I saw your follow up post on your Al Bayanat connection. After two weeks is it still as good? Does it drop out, and if so, how often? Do you know of anyone who has gotten similar results with Zooom?
Any information or tips would be very, very, very much appreciated.
Thanks,
Will
Hi Will,
I recommend Bayanat hands down if it is available where your parents are living. We presently have a “jerry rig” set up while we are waiting for full coverage to our area which means the device is located outside on an upper balcony as that’s the only place we can presently pick up a signal. We were without internet for 2 days since having it installed but until we can get the device inside we are impacted by heat and dust. However based on my experience and from others I know who are using WIMAX, it is the best way to go here. Bayanat is considerably less than Zooom. I do not know anyone using Zooom so cannot comment specifically on it.
sorry for the late reply.
I’m in Dhahran and using the slowest possible.. DUP Dial-Up
BTW why dont u add email notifications?
Hi Muneb,
Glad to see you back.
I actually have not quite figured out how to add email notification yet. I really need someone who is more technically adept and in Riyadh to come give me a hand one day so I can add the email notification and music! Inshallah….
i am using mobily internet for 3 months. it always disconnects after sometimes. I am too much frustrated.
Hi Syed and welcome! Sorry to hear of your challenges with Mobily. I continue to recommend Al Bayanat WIMAX if it is available in your area. It seems to be not only the most reliable but most economical too.
Hi!
Most interresting news and comments regarding this connectivity here in Riyadh.
I live in DQ at present and I am having exactly the same problems as everyone here.
My history is:
- Dial-Up (too slow)
- DSL (phone lines so bad, that connection was very unpredictable)
- 3.5G dongle (expensive,unreliable,time dependent at times “fast” usually slowish)
- Bayanat is not covered in DQ
Now interrested in Zooom. Anyone with comments on them?Price, reliability etc?
Thx for comments and thx for this blog!!
Jkj – first of all welcome!
Zooom is probably your best option for where you are in regards to acquiring high-speed reliable internet. The only downside is that zoom is much more expensive than al bayanat so be prepared to pay a premium. I believe Orbit satellite net is also available in the DQ but I personally cannot recommend it based at least on my own experiences.
Glad you have found my blog to help you!
Hi,
This is rather depressing. I am moving to the Al-Wadi compound near the DQ area in Riyadh. The only thing available there is 512kbs (maximum) satellite based internet by Zajil. Very expensive and no idea how reliable it is. Mobily I have been told is very shaky in that area.
Zooom seems to be an option. However I cant seem to find a website or anyting for them. How do you subscribe to this service? Do they have offices all around the city?
Thanks for your help
Imad,
welcome to the blog. Before you go with Zooom, which is quite expensive, I’d suggest see if Al Bayanat Wiimax is available first. If you search on my blog in regards to Internet, you will find other posts where I put their web sites and contact info. I’m sorry I just don’t have it right at my fingertips at the moment.
Good luck!
Hi delhi,
Thx for response. Great blog by the way. I’ve only been in Riyadh for 3 weeks and frequented this site often for tips and general reading. Keep up the good work.
I’ll check for Bayanat. I already have the link. BUt I was under the impression that they dont service the DQ area. Otherwise they do sound quite good from the review.
I would still like to get some info on Zooom if possible. The only other option I have available at the moment in the compound (assuming bayanat doesnt service) is the satellite internet of the compound. Their service is by zajil and its SR 850 per month for 512kb/s!! Thats more than $200 per month! I am guessing zooom is going to be cheaper than that!? (i hope). On top of that I need internet for work (vpn) and apparently vpns dont work well on satellite internet due to very high latencies. sigh.
Thx for your help.
You’re welcome Imad and glad to have you here.
Bayanat does not service the DQ yet but as I understand you are just outside of the DQ. Call them; an engineer will at least come to your residence and see if a signal can be obtained. For example, my area does not have full coverage yet when the engineer came and checked, he was able to find a signal and I got all set up — very satisfactorily.
Hate to say it but Zooom may cost the same or a bit more than Zajil. It is ridiculous in regards to pricing but this is one area where much much much more competition is needed to bring the price to a reasonable fee (as well as improve the service).
I wish you luck as internet woes are unfortunately a common subject still in these parts.
hey can anyone knows what to send to 1100 to subscribe for 1gb mobily high speed internet, thanks and God Bless.
I chanced upon this blog while searching for news online as to the possible reason for the internet outage today, March 21, 2009.
I searched for news which would explain my internet disconnectivity for almost 10 hours now and counting…
I was afraid that the reason would be similar to what happened last time where the entire continent suffered to total internet loss.
Anyway, I just want to say that this blog is great — very informative.
About my internet connection, I subscribed to STC for 4mbps (for personal use). As a systems engineer, I understand most of the technical issues I face. However, what I seem hard to accept is the unreliable service. 99.999 % Availabilty and Reliability is a priority. That is why I am looking for a second connection which will serve as my backup. And I am glad I found this site as a great place to start looking for my next subscription. I still intend to keep my STC connection hoping that very soon, the company will take on the necessary upgrades for improved serviceablity. Meanwhile, I will subscribe for my second connection and give it a month for testing. I will then post the results.
I surely will visit this site as often as I will get the chance.
Roc – welcome and thank you for your comment. Your frustrations are understandable. Oftentimes I will ask myself why a country which has so much to offer is still so far behind in its Internet offerings and reliability? I still have found WIMAX to be the most reliable as well as cost effective option.
Look forward to more comments from your side.
Mmm… I guess I should give WIMAX a try.
Would anyone point me in the fast lane to acquire a subscription from WIMAX? I wish to save much of my time figuring ways to reach them. If anyone knows someone from WIMAX who can assist me, I will really appreciate it if you can share the contact details.
and thanks Carol for your warm welcome…
Hey Guys, am new here tried zain , mobily and stc HSDPA (not zain though) for world of warcraft + skype + ventrilo in the background and i disconnect almost every 3 minutes. Please if anyone know of a good connection for world of warcraft please post. am currently in Ryiadh.Thank you.
Roc, I’m not in Saudi at the moment so can not easily pull up the info, but I got mine through Al Bayanat which has since been bought out by Mobily. Do give them a try. I’ll have to see if I can locate their web site for the site also allows one to search by their specific area to ensure there is good coverage.
Ronald – I don’t know what warcraft is…can you explain? That sure would be irritating getting disconnected so frequently.
Bedu world of warcraft is an online role playing game with over 12 million subscribers all over the world, it’s pretty addictive u can check it out at http://www.worldofwarcraft.com.
Regards
Thanks for the info Ronald. I’m not a gamer though. However I can see why you would likely need high bandwidth!
hey i m in world of warcraft as well ronald.. and i just bought the STC mobile internet card and i get disconnected when in 25 man raids or big cities..ms lag is 800+ms at best.
so my guess is there is not a single reliable connection in the kingdom as far as i know for game purposes except maybe wimax which requires a one year contract..
the stc connection itself doesnt disconnect and is fast at times but slow at most of the time.. probably avg download speed of 60KBps ranging from 120KBps to as low as 10KBps sometimes..
As per the original post concerning the wimax part… just want to clarify, wimax is supposed to be a very good and reliable connection, and when he said 2GB for 200 KBps (notice the “B”), download speed and 1GB for min 128 KBps download speed , is because the offered speed is sold by the measure of Kbps which is ( kilo “bits” per second) while download speed is measured by KBps whish is (kilo “Byte” per second), so the download speed is always the “offered” speed divided by 8 .. i m sure most people know this but i just wanted to clarify
…
Cheers..
anyone knows where i can subcribe wireless internet provider (except orbit) using antenna point to multi point my place on desert 45kilometers from alkharj saudi arabia.thanks again in advanced.
While I don’t know about service at your location, I am a strong advocate of Al Bayanat Wiimax.
no problem.still waiting for a new wireless network company.
The connection at first was good but as time goes by. There are intermittent disruption to the connection. Sometimes the speed goes very low and disconnected. By the way im from riyadh and we are using go wimax. actually three of my friends using simultaneously, at speed of 512kbps.. I hope the network would give an action to this. because we are always calling on there network and still no action on there part..
@Daniel from Jeraisy,
Welcome to the blog and thanks for your comment.
How long have you been experiencing the problems? I’m wondering if there is network congestion due to extended school breaks and Ramadan creating a high surge in traffic and bandwidth?
Regards, Carol
I really understand your frustrating. The internet connection including its services in SA is way slow and expensive and the costumer services is even worse.
Below are the best options of ISPs in SA:
1. STC provides fast speeds (up to 20mb) but it’s not reliable, frequently outages, very high prices and most of times one doesn’t get the speed he pay for!
2. Mobily Broadband (previously WiMax BAYANAY)
Which im subscribed to. One can get 2 mb (250 KBps download & up to 60 KBps upload) with an unlimited traffic. Unfortunately 2 mb is the highest speed they have, but they give you a three days trial period to test the service. Just make sure you’re within their coverage.
3. Zain GO (also called as Zain Residential Broadband)
It’s quite similar to Mobily broadband but it covers most of areas that Mobliy didn’t do so. Same speeds, lower costs.
Im saudi citizin, thou
@Ibra – welcome to the blog and thanks for your comment. We have had WIMAX for 1.5 years now and it has worked the best for us. I’m married to a Saudi and we live in Mohamadiyah area.
I would like to share my experience regarding the mobily connect internet. internet service since November 2009. for me it is working fairly well. But better than the STC DSL offcourse. They collect bill but the download speeds are terribly slow compared to that of the mobily connect infact. while my colleagues are paying more than 400 sr per month iam only paying 200 SR for a prepaid bundle of 5GB which is more than enough forme. moreover there is no tension regarding the rentals bills and all. only one thing i can recommend for those who intend to use such HSPDA MODEM THEY SHOULD FIND OUT THE DIRECTION WHERE THEY ARE GETTING THE MAXIMUM SIGNAL. for this purpose i use a powered USB extension chord and connect the USB modem to that. there is no more problem except the recharges that takes at least 24 hours to get activated for bundles.
Antony — thank you for the update. It sounds like Mobily connect has improved a lot since I had first tried it!
Wireless broadband here in saudi arabia is really a nightmare specially here in al kharj. Whether you are STC or Mobily subscriber and even you have full bars on your signal strenght indicator…still it’s extremely slow and sometimes the signal suddenly drop any time of the day. I’ve been a subscriber for almost 4 years and i observe that their system is getting worst every year, its the opposite of what they advertised.
I am using Zain’s USB modem. It works fine, download speed is ok. And not heavy on the pocket.