DVE64

Does anyone know what type of internet restrictions are in effect in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Some most obvious ones are filters for porn sites or sites that promote liquor.

What about others? Can one trade stocks or futures online in Riyadh? Can I log on to my non-Saudi bank to check for balances, pay bills? Any help would be most appreciated. Thank you.

edinburger

As you have stated, the obvious sites are restricted and you can check your bank and trade stocks with no problem. A lot of people here use a VPN (acts as a server from your choice of country outside the Middle East)....dont know much about it to tell you the truth but there are plenty of threads on here about them. The only real problem you will have here in Saudi is internet strength.....absolutely dire Im afraid!

norsk

As stated the obvious sites with stuff you shouldn't be looking at regardless are blocked. Not sure about sites with alcohol, but then I haven't actually checked. Ask yourself how often you are likely to be checking out the Absolut Vodka website...

Some not so obvious sites are also blocked. It seems absolutely random at times. My personal domain is blocked for example. No idea why as there is no content on there, but it doesn't bother me.

If you want to view stuff that is blocked you can either get a free VPN solution like Hotspot Shield (download and install before you get here as otherwise it can be tricky to get hold of) or you can sign up for one of the paid for VPN services. I'm not going to mention them here as I don't want to jinx them (not sure if the government monitor expat forums but it wouldn't surprise me).

Internet speeds are not that bad to be honest. You sometimes get internet included in your compound price and that will be pretty dire stuff. Most likely 1Mbps (or even 512Kbps) ADSL shared between everyone. You can imagine how good that is, but you have plenty of other options; 3G, Wimax and satellite.

I've got a prepaid 3G USB dongle (up to 7.2Mbps downstream and 2Mbps upstream) from Mobily. Costs me SR350 per month for unlimited usage. Not cheap compared to UK ADSL of course, but if you want unlimited downloads you have to pay. I also bought a wireless router called Globesurfer X-1 which creates a wireless network and provides a basic firewall and means you don't have to keep plugging the USB dongle into your laptop. It also means you can use the connection for more than one laptop/device at a time.

Wimax is supposed to be the most stable connection, but all the options I've seen are based on 2Mbps downstream and still cost about the same as my 3G connection.

Satellite is expensive, and not fast enough to warrant paying extra.

If you have any other questions fire away...

DVE64

Great. Thank you for your replies. This is helpful.

miuser2

STC DSL is OK if you can get it. I have a 4mb connection that is reliable and fast (occasional disconnects but I get the full line rate all of the time when downloading).

I have tried out the Mobily WiMAX service but was just too far from the tower for reliable service, it gradually deteriorated from reasonable service (1mb max) to completely unusable. I have heard good and bad things about the Atheeb GO! service, again it just depends on how close you are to the nearest base station.

If anyone is interested I still have the mobily WiMAX radio unit and external antennas, for a few riyals they are yours..

Dsithlord

How about VOIP? Has anyone been able to get one of those to work on a consisten basis. I have the STC 3G modem and usually have 2mbs down and 300kbps up but my latency to the website is about 400m/s. I have traced it at my work on our dsl line and still get pretty much the same connection. Even though my connection company tellls me that it is a latency problem and that it is caused by the 3G modem, I am not convinced. Anyone have any information?