steviedeluxe

Apologies for what might seem like a naive question. I may have the chance of working for a year in Saudi, but would need to know what diversions I can still waste time on (eg British tele, the internet etc), as I realise that a lot of pleasures will not be available there.

Blue Cat

they have got internet and Showtime - you will be fine. www.showtimearabia.com

steviedeluxe

Thanks Blue Cat. The possibility of the job is now receding, but it's useful to know this in case any other work does show up.

typical

My opinion remains that internet is slower but less restrictive (at least for an expat) than in the UAE.

nottmbantam

If your're gonna be on a compound, chances are that you will be able to get internet / broadband.

As typical points out, the connection speeds howeverm are not much better than dial up and tend to be VERY pricey compared to the UK. For example, the compound I'm in in Jeddah, gets me broadband at 256k for 200 riyals a month. That's around 32pounds a month for a quarter of a meg speed. Compare this to the UK where you will probably get 8mb for about half the price.

You can get mobile boradband though the main mobile network swith USB dongle, and again, depends on your location whether you will get 3G / 3.5G speeds. In my house, I don't get those speeds.

THere are also plenty of coffee shops where you will free wifi - provided you buy a coffee!

Bear in mind that you will not be able to access sites such as BBC iPlayer, as the BBS site will pick you are abroad, and their conent will only play in a UK isp. YOu can buy a VPN which will route your internet connection via a UK ISP, and this will cost you in the region of around 40quid a year.

So, short answer is yes, it's available, but its pricey and its slow. You get used to it.

typical

We're getting pretty good results with WiMAX from Mobily at the moment - much faster than their 3.5G offering, but the coverage area is very limited.

Bonny Boy

I'm not too much up on the technical side of computing/internet - they are tools to do a job so far as I am concerned, however, I can get BBC Radio over the internet in Jeddah through the Wi-Fi network of the hotel where I am staying without any special arrangement being required.

typical

Yes - radio is not geographically restricted (except during certain sporting events). TV is.

nottmbantam

Yeah, I was thinking of going down this road too, but the only thing worrying me is the coverage.

At home in Jeddah, I can't get a 3G signal, so whilst I can connect to the internet, the connection speeds are quite slow. It makes me worry that if I go down the Mobily Wi Max route, again, I won't get a decent enough signal / coverage. I did ask at the local Mobily shop, and they reckon where i live shoudo be covered by Wimax.

Riyadh is no problem though, seem to get 3.5G in most places.

typical

Mobily will let you take the router back if you can't get WiMAX coverage. Or so they told me when I bought it.

The WiMAX connection has nothing to do with the GSM coverage, technically speaking (though they probably do share masts) so not getting 3g coverage doesn't mean no WiMAX.

Worth a try anyway. Even with one bar on the router in Riyadh, the speed I get is far better than 3.5G.

nottmbantam

Ah ok, will probably give it a try when I'm back from leave. Not worth it at the moment, as the house is empty five days a week, and when I'm there , I just use the Mobily Interent through the phone or visit a coffee shop and use their wifi!

Cheers.