I’m Back
I just got back to Kuwait this morning, was out for a total of 10 days. I thought the weather in Lebanon was hot but it turns out its even hotter here. I am really glad to be back on a high speed internet connection again, I was on a 256kb connection back in Lebanon that was just slightly faster than dial up and had a download limit of just 6GB. My iPhone here in Kuwait has a much faster connection speed and a much higher download limit so I don’t understand how people in Lebanon are still living with their crappy connection.
Speaking of broadband connection, I read an article the other day about how in the UK by 2012, 40% of the population will have access to 100Mbps connections. And here I am happy to be back on a 2Mbps line…
Dec 28, 2009
mark, kuwait airways change their website. w00t, they r actually improving!!!!!
You should thank God you have a 2 Mbps connection, my telephone line is limited to 1 Mbps and I cannot upgrade it to higher speeds :(
Welcome back mark :)
I had a 20mb connection in London (for less then KD 6 per month) with a download speed of over 15mb/s and now in Kuwait its 2mb and it feels so SLOW and I have to pay a fortune to get fast internet.
Problem with Lebanon is that the communication industry is a monopoly. I heard they are going to privatize most of it sectors (including companies) which will change everything.
El7amdilla 3ala el salama :)
South Korea already got that speed 100Mbps and by 2012 Koreans will be able to access 1Gbps.
I’ve a Korean friend who confirmed that and told me it’s been used in some areas in Korea (the 1Gbps)
http://gigaom.com/2009/02/01/by-2012-koreans-will-get-a-gigabit-per-second-broadband-connection/
Welcome back, and welcome to the real life :)
El7amdilla 3al el salama
i do little browsing and alot of downloading, we have for open download and not be limited to 1-30gb a month, and then charge you per gb.
@Kal
one word .. WOW !!
The lebanese manage with terrible internet like everything else here, they have a backup, like 2 electricities, 2 waters, 2 phones, the good internet, the illegal or the cafe and the ever-present hope of “things getting better”.
the biggest substantial upgrade I ever felt was a jump from a 2mb to 8mb line. I tested a 16mb connection and felt zero difference while browsing; you can only feel the difference while P2P and downloading files.
LOL, don’t compare the UK to Kuwait!
Let’s hope a lost diver doesn’t cut the under-water-whatever cable soon
welcome back mark .. its also in Kuwait its the beginning of the new year and the weather haven’t became colder.
I hope that you have enjoyed and relaxed.
Welcome Back :)
woah!! 100 Mbps!!!!!
ahhh… i can only imagine how lovely that would be…
I used to be happy with this one mb connection… cant wait to go back to the uk next week.. i have a 75 mb connection over there.
Welcome back Mark , my connection is 6MB and am happy with it , i dont know why i would need a100 MB connection , maybe just 10 would be enough ;)
Welcome back. I’ve just came back to Kuwait too. I love the weather here though.
How fast is your iPhones 3G connection with Zain? I got the 14KD (1GB monthly limit) and they told me I could get 7.2Mbps and so far I can only get 300~400 Kbps (using Speed Test app)!! I called them and I couldn’t get a straight answer. They tried to confuse me with the bit and Byte thing with me but failed since I know the difference very well. Back in the States I usually get 1Mbps to 1.7Mbps speed on AT&T 3G cell network.
In the UAE we are getting 16Mbps to the homes but the problem in the Middle East isn’t speed as much as its the latency that kills the response.
In London you browse CNN.com like its sitting there on your laptop, the moment you press Enter, the site pops up in your face.
At 16Mpbs i still have the crappiest connection when playing games and I have to wait for 248am to load for ages.
I think it either have to do with the distance to the US and the time the light needs to travel or the filtering systems they have with our telcos.
the new fiber in Q8 homes can go faster than 8MB , but it all depends on the backbone connections from the ISP to upstream providers .
Like E-go and other they give 7.2 & 21.6 but the bandwidth still can be shared by many users , which most of the times you get low d/l speeds .
We still have a long way to go here. But, how do we manage with such slow “official” internet? We use illegal ISPs :P They buy bandwidth beamed down from Russian satellites and spread it to subscribers. I get 128 – 512 kbps (heck, it even comes close to 1 Mbps late night/early morning) and around 2.5 GB allowance per day.
But it’s still shit, don’t get me started on latency and reliability :(
Why can’t we all be like Finland where fast internet is a legal right?
People are happy with their limited internet connection in lebanon, because its not the entertainment center as it is here in Kuwait, there is much more than downloading, and surfing the net to be done overthere.
Hope you enjoyed your time there, am on my way tonight, looking forward not to use a computer while am there.
Happy 2010
Back when I was doing my undergrad in Australia just 6 months ago, I loved my 44mbps connection. It costed me 18kd per month and I had unlimited IPtv a webspace and an email.
To the person above saying that the internet os entertainment but I am sorry you are wrong. A single email I miss can mean a whole year worth of work lost to me. Can’t wait till I can go back for my postgraduate studies in aussie. I’m sick of this place already even though I haven’t landed here in 4.5 years and I’m a 22yo kuwaiti.