Frequently asked questions

• General Internet Questions
• ISP-related Questions
• Filtering, Hacking and Viruses
• Domain Name FAQ
• Operation of the Internet

What is the Internet?
See ISU information on Internet definitions, technology, and uses.

Who is in charge of the Internet in Saudi Arabia?
King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) has been mandated by royal decree number 163 to be in charge of providing Saudi Arabia with Internet access, in cooperation with PTT and MOF.

How many subscribers are in Saudi Arabia now?
By end of year 2003, there were about 1,462,000 subscribers for more information <click here>.

Does KACST allow ISPs to have too many customers in relation to their bandwidth?
ISPs are expected to not exceed a user-to-port ratio of 20:1 in the worst case.   Most operate at 10:1.  KACST-ISU does not enforce this policy but recommends it. Market forces and competition will make ISPs go for a low user-to-port ratio. 

To whom should I complain regarding a problem with my ISP?
See the section on ISP FAQ.

Whom to contact to get a license to operate a certain Internet business?
KACST does not issue nor require a license to operate any Internet-related business.  You have to contact the Communications and Information Technology Commission .

Is the following application allowed in Saudi Arabia (Voice-over-IP, e-commerce, VPNs, etc.) ?
All Internet applications are available to all users in the kingdom.
 

How to get information about ISPs?
Go to the ISU Web Site.

Whom to contact regarding any complaints against ISPs?
Communications and Information Technology Commission

What are the fees for Internet access in the kingdom?
You will find the information on this link

Is there a plan in the future to have new ISPs?
All the issues regarding the licensing of new ISPs had been handed over to Communications and Information Technology Commission

Is there a price plan for leased lines similar to the dialup price plans?
No, KACST has no price plans for leased lines.

How to be an ISP in the Kingdom?
All the requirements to be an ISP can be found at Communications and Information Technology Commission web site

How many ISPs are currently in the kingdom?
Currently, there are 23 licensed ISPs.

How to contact an ISP?
Go to licensed ISP

Is it possible to get a direct access to the Internet through KACST?
No, KACST gives a direct access to the ISPs and Saudi Universities only.

Does KACST give a license to the Internet café’s?
No, This task had been handed over to Communications and Information Technology Commission .

Can an ISP sell or leased the Internet license that given to him?
NO, it is not allowed.

Can a foreign ISP join a Saudi ISP?
Yes, a foreign ISP can join a licensed ISP.

Is it allowed to use VSAT to get Internet access?
NO, it is illegal to get an access to the Internet through VSAT or any other media.

How can I choose an ISP?
Read about this in Choosing an ISP

IS it possible to view the ISP utilization?
Yes, go to the ISU main site.
 

How can I request a site to be blocked or unblocked?
To request the blocking of a site, please click here.
To request a blocked site to be opened, please click here.

What kinds of sites are being filtered by the ISU?
The ISU focuses on pornographic material and will block any site that contains such material as it becomes aware of it.

Does the ISU keep access logs? If so, are they being used?
The ISU does keep proxy access logs. These logs are kept confidential and may be accessed for the purpose of stopping excessive network abuse.

Does the ISU keep any information about the browsing habits of web users inside the Kingdom?
The ISU keeps no such information about individual users at all.  ISU employs statistical techniques to determine usage patterns to improve the performance of web access in the Kingdom.

How can I access a certain newsgroup?
To suggest a newsgroup to be added/removed, please click here.

What is a computer virus?
A computer virus is a program written to intentionally enter a computer without the user’s permission or knowledge. After gaining access, the virus may attempt to execute certain tasks, although some viruses do little but replicate themselves.  Others may inflict serious damage to computer data.

How can I protect myself against viruses?
There are three simple steps to protect against viruses:

• Keep your anti virus and web browser software updated.

• Never open files received over the web unless you scan them and make sure they were sent from someone that you know and trust.

• Try to keep in touch with the latest development since some new viruses may require special protection.

• Disable booting from floppy drive (A:).

Who are those so called hackers?
Hacker is the term used to refer to a person who tries to gain illegal access to other people/organization systems. The purpose for this access can vary from one case to another but must not be taken lightly.

What reasons do hackers have for gaining access to people’s systems?
The most common reasons are:

• To prove they can do it.

• To see what’s on other people’s computers.

• To destroy some/all data on a hacked machine.

• To fool around with owners of hacked machines.

How can I protect myself against hackers?
There are several measures to protect your machine against hackers:

• Use a password to access your machine.

• Never store your passwords in your web browser.

• Keep your anti virus and web browser software updated.

• Do not leave your personal machine for public usage.

• Disconnect your machine from the web when done surfing.

• Keep a backup copy of your important data.

• Verify the authenticity of any software before running it.

Every time I log on to the web, I receive a port scan. Should I be worried?
No you shouldn’t. When you connect to the web, you are exposed to all kinds of threats. You should follow the measures listed above to protect your self against any threats.

How can I report a web abuse incident?
You should contact your ISP directly and have him follow this complaint on your behalf. Make sure you provide full information regarding that incident (IP address, precise time stamp).

Are there any regulations that deal with net abuse in Saudi Arabia?
Yes, these regulation are being prepared for approval by concerned authorities. And will be announced to the public when they go into effect.
 

What is SaudiNIC?
SaudiNIC stands for Saudi Network Information Center which is responsible for administering the Internet name space for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia top-level domain (SA) among its other functions. SaudiNIC website

What is a domain name?
A domain name represents your organization on the Internet. It is you Internet address which will be used by others to reach your web site to send you email messages.

Why should I register a domain name?
A domain name will uniquely and easily identify your organization on the global Internet. By having it, you will have your own E-mail or Web addresses that are similar to/contain your company name.

What type of domain name should I apply for?
This depends on the nature of your organization (see Domains under .SA).

How do I choose a domain name for my organization?
It is most probable that users online will try out names that are similar to your organization name (e.g., transliteration, English translation, or abbreviation).

Can I check if a domain name is available?
Yes, you can check if the name you want is available or not by conducting a domain name search at SaudiNIC database:

What if I found the domain name I am looking for is taken?  Are there any alternatives?
Yes, you can think of an alternative name and try searching SaudiNIC whois database again.

What is a suitable domain name?
A typical .sa domain name consists of three parts separated by “.” and looks like: <your-domain>.<type>.sa.
The <your-domain> portion can contain any combination of letters and numbers as well as hyphen (-) between 3 and 24 characters long. The <type> portion describes the nature of your organization (see the SA domain hierarchy on the reverse page) while the last portion is sa.

Are there any companies that provide domain name hosting?
Yes, there are many companies, mostly ISPs, available whether locally in the Kingdom or outside that offer domain name hosting services.

Do I need to have a web site (ready or hosted) to register a domain name?
No, you only need to have your domain name hosted, provide SaudiNIC with the two name servers hosting your domain name, and have your domain registered. All this does not require having your web-site ready.

Is the Internet working now?
Yes , if you are connected to the Internet and your browsing speed is good, and then browsing gets slow or you lose your connection to the Internet, then there is a problem somewhere between you and the Internet. 

Does filtering of URLs (blocking) make the Internet slow?
ISU proxies cause a minor latency not noticed by the user, and it does not contribute to the occasional slowness users notice.  Currently ISU proxies are running at about half the capacity and we have more waiting to be installed. you can get more information on this page.

How reliable is the Internet in Saudi Arabia?
As with most businesses, there is no 100% reliable service.   Due to things out of our control (e.g., transit providers in other countries, local telecom infrastructure, etc.) there is no way we can guarantee there will never be any service interruptions.
To achieve the best reliability and uptime we are doing the following:

• Doubling the hardware. That means we have a hot backup for our hardware.

• For our infrastructures, we have the latest products from the best vendors.

• We have very knowledgeable staff and we deal with some well-known consultation companies.

• We do all the patches and upgrades on time.

• We have 24 hours a day, 7 days a week helpdesk.

Additionally we are doing the following:

• We have (January 2004) six STM-1 links with about ( 930 Mbps) of bandwidth.

• All the STM-1 links are  undersea cable, which means faster and more  reliable service than Satellite links.

• ISU has another center in Jeddah serving as a backup point of connection although some ISPs are directly connected there .

Why is the Internet slow?
Here is a short summary of the possible causes:
 

Bandwidth and latency:
it is important to understand both concepts. For example even if the road from Riyadh to Jeddah is three lanes wide and has usually very little traffic (i.e., plenty of bandwidth), it is impossible to make the trip in an hour, because a car does not go fast enough (i.e., latency).  With satellite links, there is a 500-millisecond roundtrip delay on communications to and from the Kingdom.   The TCP protocol requires acknowledgements of packets, which can slow throughput considerably.
 

Congestion at the international links to Kingdom:
This is KACST's direct responsibility. Currently we have enough bandwidth during normal conditions, We are currently operating with six STM-1 links with a total bandwidth of ( 930 Mbps), Most of the time only third of This bandwidth is used even in the peak hours , in very rear occasions when our links are under huge attacks the consumed bandwidth may reach 70 to 80 % of the total capacity, this will cues slowness in browsing , but such incidents are very rear and handled immediately by our helpdesk.

Congestion outside Kingdom, at the Internet backbone:
We have not seen this very often, our service providers usually keep their networks in good order.

ISU proxies:
They cause some latency, but they are not a major cause of slowness. Currently the proxies are running at about half the capacity and we have more waiting to be installed. you can get more information on this page.

ISP proxies, STC ports, and user’s computers:
These all depend on how the ISP, the STC, and the user are keeping their equipment well-tuned.

Link from KACST to ISP:
This is currently the major cause of slow browsing.  Some ISPs are running over the maximum capacity of the link. When the traffic from the customers reaches the maximum bandwidth, the link is fully utilized.  At this point "the Internet is slow".  In general, slow response time begins when utilization goes over 90%. go to the ISPs line status page.
 

WWW servers:
This is usually a local issue and should affect only some servers, you can verify this by trying to browse to different servers.

What are the sites that ISU is mirroring?
ftp.cpan.org   (CPAN is the Comprehensive Perl Archive Network)
ftp.gnu.org    (The GNU Project produces a complete Unix-like operating system which is free software and open source programs)
ftp.openbsd.org (The OpenBSD project produces a FREE, multi-platform 4.4BSD-based UNIX-like operating system)
ftp.debian.org   (Debian is a free operating system (OS) for your computer)
archive.ubuntu.com   (Ubuntu is a free operating system (OS) for your computer)
ftp.isi.edu  (Part of the University of Southern California (USC), ISI is involved in a broad spectrum of information processing research and in the development of advanced computer and communication technologies)
ftp.freebsd.org (FreeBSD is an advanced BSD UNIX operating system for "PC-compatible" computers)
ftp.xemacs.org (XEmacs is a highly customizable open source text editor and application development system)

How can I suggest a site to be mirrored?
Please visit this like.

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