Internet Activity
Currently the Internet is available in Saudi Arabia through King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, but to a very limited audience, most of which are researchers. Just before the introduction of this limited the Saudi MOPTT hosted a service called Alwaseet, this is packet switched national data network (X.25). Many used this network in the early day to connect to their ISPs overseas, which they already have an account with, if not they will have to request a joint service from Alwaseet. These joint services provided by Alwaseet were so costly and the connection speed was so low, that many started to dial in into their ISP by calling international to Bahrain. Today over 10,000 Saudis call Bahrain for Internet access. On
In mid 1997, Saudi Arabia announced that the Internet would be available locally. This announcement came form KACST after months of anticipation by the Saudi citizens. The science and technology city has set up a special unit which would supervise the whole process of linking Saudi Arabia with the rest of the world through Internet services. Access to the Internet in Saudi Arabia, where foreign publications are strictly controlled and censored, has been delayed by worries about material considered offensive. In order to filter out material considered undesirable, above all pornography, the government has created a funnel through which all international websites have to be channeled. The King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology has installed a system that will prevent users from viewing prohibited websites. The ultimate arbiter on what is permissible will be the interior ministry. The system is supposed to be updated daily: as new pornographic sites spring up in cyberspace, their addresses will be logged in Riyadh and duly blocked. Or so the theory goes. The service is expected to begin in December of 1998, but analysts have suggested there could be further delays because Saudi Arabia's creaky telephone system may not be able to cope with the new demands by Internet users. One Saudi official said "Saudi Telecommunications Co, a newly established private company, was setting up servers across the country to handle the data traffic".
KACST has been reviewing applications from 74 Saudi firms that qualified to be ISP. The latest reports estimate that the actual number of ISPs in the country is going to be around 27. It is estimated that by the end of the first year after introduction 120,000 Saudis will subscribe to an ISP in Saudi Arabia. It is not said when the route to the net will open for the Saudi's but the target is to have Riyadh, Jeddah and the Al-Khobar/Dammam area ready by the end of the year. Smaller towns are to be connected later. The King Abdulaziz Center for Science and Technology (KACST) and the Saudi Telecommunications Company (STC) have fixed the subscription rate for Internet services at 7.5 halalas (US $ 0.02) per minute. This rate announced on September 7, following a meeting with representatives from the 72 companies, including STC itself, who have qualified as Internet service providers.
The City stated that the connection speed would be 512kb, and the installation fee for each unit is SR 24,000 (US $6,400), and the monthly subscription fee for each unit would be SR 112,000 (US $29,870). The City has also made it clear that these fees do not include the cost of leasing telephone lines or any other service from the various departments of STC. These services are dealt with separately and the internet service applicant company should bear responsibility for them. The City has also stated the monthly fees of other connection speeds in that it will charge SR 224000 (US $59,740) for the 1024 bit connection, SR 336000 (US $89,600) for the 1536 bit connection, and SR 448000 (US $119,500) for the 2048 bit connection. The City has already started receiving applications from applicant companies
Some of the firms that provide some current local connection and site development services include:
Saudi Network Information Center