So, you live in Saudi Arabia, and all your friends and colleagues at the office have Internet access, except you, that is...You want to get an internet account, but puzzled on what is available in the market... Or perhaps you are a young Saudi studying abroad, and get internet access at your university. Your study is coming to an end, and you are moving back to the kingdom, and wonder what internet access is available these days... Or maybe your company is moving you to Saudi Arabia, and you don't know what internet access options are there in that country...

If you compare the cost of accessing the internet in the Arab region, versus what it costs in USA and Canada, you will find it much less favorable.

In the United States, a regular unlimited access monthly account would cost around 20 US$. Moreover, there are absolutely no charges per minute from the local phone company.

All Points of Presence (PoP) are managed by the Saudi Telecommunications Company (STC), which is the recently privatized "Phone Company".  They use modem banks equipped with 56Kbps V.90 Modems, which work pretty well. Access kingdomwide is through "360-xxxx" numbers which does a per minute charge back to your phone bill. This is over and above what you pay your ISP. Initially, there are 5,000 such lines available kingdomwide, divided evenly for all licensed ISPs, giving each one about 125 dial-in

Important Note: This web site is not updated on a regularbasis. The information in it is current as of Summer 2000. Prices and speeds may have changed since.

• Introduction What this site is all about...It is important to read this section before your delve into the details.