Job Discussion Forums

[akoo1]

This post is regarding PREPAID mobile internet and mobile phone in KSA.

I'm choosing between main operators (STC, Mobily, Zain).

I'd like to know your experiences using prepaid services in KSA (especially if you've used more than one service to compare the pros/cons).

I will be in a medium sized city (Hofuf) where 4G may not be available, however 3G for both phone and internet should be working. I won't know for sure till I get there.

For mobile internet (usb stick, mobile wifi, or plugin router) are the 3 connection technologies. Have you noticed much difference between them? Or is more a matter of location, luck... ?

I intend to use internet with personal laptop only. I don't have any devices.

I will also have to get a VPN, but i will make a separate post about that.

I am mostly interested in unlimited Gigabytes/month. I know unlimited means 30, 50 or 60GB/month, that's more than enough. However, i will settle for 20GB/month as a minimum.

I mostly use the internet for Youtube, media downloads and extensive surfing. No social media.

Note: The speed of downloads or time required to load pages isn't as important for me as the stability of the connection. I don't mind waiting for tabs to open as long as they open. I often open many tabs.

Some of the annual prepaid internet offers provide great discounts. But, i don't want to commit for one year with a company I don't know yet.

As for the phone, local SMS is the only service I use in great frequency. I'd like to have unlimited SMS every month or a very low per SMS rate. I don't need data on the phone. I make rare voice calls in emergencies.

No roaming, or international necessary. I use Skype for that.

I have an unlocked triband Nokia bought in Australia a couple years ago (however it's NOT a smartphone). I think it's GSM 850 / 1900 / 2100. I prefer to avoid buying a new phone. Also, package bundles with services I don't need (like voice, data and sms combos). I just need the sms.

Anyways, i think that's enough information to get started.

So, what do you think? Based on the above information, would you choose STC, Mobily or Zain?

Cheers

[nomad soul]

[sicklyman]

Mobily customer service is absolutely awful. I gave up with them after 2 years on my mobile and went with Zain although I only use them for prepaid. I also used Mobily for internet for 1 year but it kept dying on my and I had to keep going back to an office to ask them to reset it. I switched to STC for home internet and had no problems.

[1chunk]

STC all the way. You can forget about Zain, their coverage is poor although it's cheap.

I am currently with Mobily and haven't had any network problems but from my overall experience (and friends/students) I've found STC to be the best.

You can get a small wifi device (to carry in your pocket etc) for 3 months renewable. 300 Riyals and unlimited net. It's worth it.

[scot47]

I used Mobily and had a Pay As You Go deal. I never became as addicted to the cell-phone/mobile as the students. Many are unable to pass a few minutes without using their "Jawal". Having the attention span of a demented gerbil predisposes them to constant use of the cell-phone.

[akoo1]

Lots of conflicting information, but you are the 2nd person to recommend the 300SAR for 3 months unlimited STC prepaid, but is that for Internet or mobile phone? Also, have you noticed the service is only good at the beginning and as time goes on it degrades forcing you to start over with a new company? Is that been your experience? It seems like people try all three and pick their ultimate favourite based on their own unique, personal experiences (which may not be useful for others depending on their location, for example)

[plumpy nut]

I used Mobily internet in Riyadh as well as some other smaller towns. The signal was always strong. Of course if you use it in a basement the signal gets real small, it doesn't matter who it is. Mobily pay per use cards are perfectly good as well.

[sicklyman]

[radient one]

STC provides generally reliable, cheap connections, cell and internet here in Riyadh and in the more remote parts I've been to. Be warned of their staggeringly bad customer service in comparison with country-of-origin providers, though. Good advice from the poster above who said to wait and confer with colleagues in the town you will be working in. Good wishes.

[mnruman]

Was it difficult to find sims which would fit in your phones? When I went it was fairly difficult to find micro sims for iphone 4s. Im just wondering now that I require a nano sim how difficult is it to get a hold a a prepay version?

[sicklyman]

want a micro sim? Get a normal sim, put your old micro sim over the top and cut the macro sim to size with a pair of scissors. Sorted

[scot47]

Your students will be experts on all of this mumbo-jumbo. Ask them.

[chrisp728]

I watch quite a lot of TV from back home on streaming, plus I download lots of torrents. I got one of the Mobily wireless routers that you plug in to the mains. It cost about 1200 SAR for a year.

It was advertised as 4G, but in fact the 3G worked better. It was also advertised as unlimited, but in fact what would happen when I tried to watch TV on it is that it would be fine for about half an hour, then the speed would suddenly plummet and the show would start buffering every five seconds. By the following day it would have recovered, but was always throttled soon after I started streaming or downloading.

In the end I sold it to a colleague who only uses the net for basics, and signed up for my compound's hardwired internet, which is much more expensive but is a veritable Amazon River of bandwith compared to Mobily's trickle of pish.


As for phone, I'm on an 80SAR/mo deal with Mobily for 1GB, which is plenty to listen to the radio about five or six hours a week on the commute.

[akoo1]

It sounds like unlimited only means up to a limit/time period. Fair use policy? For example, 2GB/day, or 15GB/week no matter what the monthly allotment is. This could explain the buffering issues.