Riyadh - Post Report Question and Answers
Is high-speed home Internet access available? How long does it typically take to install it after arrival?
Yes, embassy housing has it installed prior to arrival. - Jul 2021
You’re supposed to have internet ready to go when you arrive. If you don’t, it can be a long wait to get it sorted out. - Feb 2018
Not in most of the housing; certainly not in the newer construction that is located on the outskirts of the Diplomatic Quarter. I paid about US$100 a month for what was supposed to be a high-speed Internet connection because I needed it for my remote job, but it slowed to a crawl quite often during the evening and crashed frequently. I can't even imagine what people do if they don't have a wired telephone line and thus no chance of having this so-called high-speed connection. People obviously find alternate ways to get Internet in their homes, but most residences don't have it ready to use the moment you move in. - Oct 2017
Yes! Most of the houses associated with the US embassy should have internet installed. Ours has been fine, though sometimes slow, but others have more issues. Hit or miss. - Jan 2017
Internet is widely available, but not very high-speed and very, very censored. Some of my diploamatic friends got around this using a VPN (?) plug-in or peripheral, which allowed them to access anything, but I never was able to understand their explanations about how to install this so I lived without it. - May 2016
High-speed? Um, yeah, right. Cost is a bit high nowadays for what we get. - Nov 2015
Yes, at around 150 USD monthly, but it is choppy and slow. - Oct 2015
Yes, STC, Mobily. Sometimes the internet was good, other times it was very slow and would freeze often. You need a VPN because everything is blocked. - Oct 2015
Yes. - Jan 2015
Yes. - Sep 2014
Not in most of the housing; certainly not in the newer construction that is located on the outskirts of the DQ. I pay about US$100 a month for what is supposed to be high speed Internet connection because I need it for my remote job, but it slows to a crawl quite often during the day and crashes frequently. I can't even imagine what people put up with who don't have a wired telephone and thus no chance of having this so-called high speed connection. - Mar 2014
Yes it is. Two companies provide - STC and Mobily. Cost is approximately US$80-$100 per month. - Dec 2013
Available but slow and unreliable, however it is fairly cheap. - Oct 2013
Reasonable internet service is available - good enough for Skype without video - but it's expensive and can take months to get installed. - Mar 2013
Depends on your housing area. A wifi box is available through mobily and is relatively fast, but slows down on weekends and evenings. DSL is also available in some houses, but it can be time consuming to try and get STC to set it up. Cost depends on speed and length of commitment. - Apr 2011
Yes, about $40-$50/month depending on the desired speed. - Jul 2010
It is expensive and slow. - Mar 2010
Available but around $100.00 per month. - Jan 2010
I bought through the embassy. It's not particularly fast or cheap, but it'll do. There is heavy censorship on the internet. - Dec 2009
Yes, not that expensive, fast and of course, very censored. - Oct 2008
No - slow but functional. - Aug 2008
