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Post by daisy on Jun 13, 2012 1:30:21 GMT
Greetings, I am looking forward to starting my new adventure in KSA soon. I plan to purchase an iPad 3 here in the US and bring it with me. Is there 4G cellular service in the Udhailiyah camp and Al-Hasa area? Also, will it be possible to purchase a local data plan once I am in the KSA for my iPad 3? My other concern is which iPad should I select here, AT&T or Verizon? The only difference is the Verizon iPad 3 will work in CDMA networks. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.
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Post by Gentleman_S on Jun 13, 2012 17:15:32 GMT
CDMA is a dying technology. While there were a few implementations in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East, it was mostly a North American standard used by Verizon and Bell. Many other operators have already decomissioned their cdma2000 system and reused the spectrum for WCDMA/HSPA. There was a marginal cdma deployment in the KSA but in the 450 MHz band which is not compatible with any device you may buy in the US. So you should not buy a CDMA handset or tablet if you want to roam outside the US/Canada.
There is some LTE (4G) covee in the KSA but it is using band 38 unpaired TDD (2600 MHz). It will not be compatible with the iPad3 you buy in the US. However HSPA+ service should work.
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Uman
Senior Member
Posts: 161
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Post by Uman on Jun 18, 2012 17:12:18 GMT
I read your post, but am finding it hard to understand what it says.
Sorry, but Im new to this technology.
I have an Ipad 3, and am interested in getting a sim card for it...can I..? cant I..? is it worth it..?
or just buy a new galaxy mobile...?
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Post by daisy on Jun 19, 2012 4:04:41 GMT
o Uman,
I went ahead and bought the iPad 3 with cellular service for data. As soon as I am issued a work visa then I will be moving to KSA. When you find out if a local sim card will work, will you let me know? It would be reassuring, and since I will be arriving during Ramadan, I know that it may take a while to get DSL internet. In the mean time, I will be on an international plan from AT&T. Thank you!
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Post by Economist on Jul 14, 2012 8:05:21 GMT
Gentleman_S gave a technically excellent explanation--though perhaps not entirely clear--as to why you should buy an AT&T iPad versus the Verizon. GSM, as used in the AT&T version, is the global standard.
I cannot speak to using an iPad3 on a 4G network (don't have one yet :? ) but my AT&T iPad2 works fine over here with Mobily (and would also with STC). Data plans are available, and Mobily has astonishingly good global roaming data plans. You may have to wait for your Iqama to be issued before you can get that service, however.
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Post by tfcfan on Sept 21, 2012 20:00:51 GMT
is the iphone 5 available in Saudi Arabia? I am just wondering if I should buy the phone here before I come - or purchase it there. can anyone comment on 4G LTE networks and if they are genuinely faster then the 3G networks?
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Post by DannyT on Oct 2, 2012 19:09:51 GMT
went to STC store today on camp and they said January for iphone 5. Also, today is my second day here in KSA and I don't have a home phone (they need to install it for me) so I went out and bought a STC USB stick that is basically a model supposedly pushing 5-7mps. Yeah right! I plugged it in and was avee 2-10kps. After a half-hour or so, it was pushing a more usable 30-60kpbs. It's not too efficient for mass communication but at least it lets me send e-mails (my current only way to communicate!). supposedly it was better before the attack but i'm not sure what to believe.
I too have an Iphone 4s - verizon and iPad 3 (verizon too). I bought a standard sim and am going to try and insert it into the verizon 4s to see if it works. I will take the phone to the mall where they supposedly "unlock it" and trim the standard card into a mini (but Verizon said not needed before i left). Not sure who to believe. I think if I had it to do again, I'd have sold my verizon and used the money to get a KSA cell instead...
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Post by tfcfan on Oct 3, 2012 8:05:51 GMT
thanks for the info danny. yeah unfortunately I think your phone is locked to verizon - and it really depends what OS version your running to be able to unlock it. The apple store in Canada actually sells unlocked iphones - that's how i purchased my 4 and used around the world without the hassle of unlocking.
I am supposed to be coming end of October/November - maybe I should bring a couple of unlocked 5's with me - people may be interested in getting them?
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Post by Twofeets on Oct 3, 2012 18:58:48 GMT
I dont think Ive ever seen true 4G speed here in Saudi. Even true 3G speed can be hard to find on most camps.
That being said, the current situation is far worse than norm. When the home and work internet went down 1000s of people flocked to mobile providers for internet which pretty much over loaded the system. If you get online during off hours the speed is normally decent (assuming you get a good signal), but during peak hours you can pretty much forget it.
One thing thats worked for me is when signing on look to see what kind of connection you get. If its EDGE as its older technology and usually slow. UMTS and HSPA are the 3G technologies here. Theoretically UMTS is faster, but from what Ive seen HSPA is FAR faster than UMTS. Basically I just keep logging in and out until I get an HSPA signal. Sometimes when the system gets busy or If I go inactive it reverts to UMTS in which case I keep relogging until I get it back. Not a high tech solution, but it works well for me in RT and Tanajib.
The home internet being resorted has helped some. The work internet is finally back up (at least here) but is highly restrictive, so the load on the 3G networks is still very heavy during peak hours.
As with getting hired, sometimes its just a matter of patience. It sucks waiting for the phone line, DSL, etc, but its all part of the moving in experience...
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Post by DannyT on Nov 9, 2012 8:06:11 GMT
Just thought I'd share an update on my iPhone 4S experience in KSA. In turns out that there is an international phone number for Verizon that handles activating your iPhone for international sim use. Too funny as when I asked the Verizon rep BEFORE leaving, the answer was that iTunes would resync with my new sim - bs! I told the sales rep who I called while already here in KSA my story and they figure out ow to activate it. Keep in mind, I cancelled my Verizon service already before leaving but did pay off the early termination fee so was enled to be unlocked. Basically, here's the process I did: buy a mini sim from ksa carrier (I have stc but you could do mobily too), call (from a different phone than your cell) the Verizon international activation number, tell them to unlock the phone (they CAN DO IT OVER THE STC CELL LINE!), it unlocks and you insert the new sim, type in the new sim password (on the SIM card), and that's it, iPhone 4S works fine. THEY CAN AND SHOULD DO ALL OF THIS IN THE US THOUGH!!! Save the hassle for yourself and do it in the US - don't let them tell you otherwise!
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