comparison chart of Batelco’s Internet access fees in Jordan and Bahrain
Doesn’t this comparison make your blood boil? Doesn’t it look like Batelco has been and will continue to take the place it calls its headquarters, the country that nourished it for a ride? Doesn’t that look like Batelco is biting the hand that feeds it? Don’t they look nothing less than vampires?
Of course it does and they don’t particularly care… after all, what’s the alternative?
September 19th, 2006 at 1:25 pm
Mr Admin,
Why can’t we raise an official complain to the TRA and the King by showing them this comparison? We aer paying higher than Jordanians by a national company who is suppose to support its own people.
Let’s all of us thing about a way to raise a complain because enough is enough!!!
September 19th, 2006 at 4:44 pm
dame i dont belive this….batelco —- u
September 19th, 2006 at 5:03 pm
Wow, that comparison is quite shocking. It could (and probably will) however, be argued, that Jordan is a far bigger market than Bahrain for all telephony services, and so we’re screwed simply because we don’t have enough people in Bahrain to justify lower costs!
It’s a double edged sword really - Batelco could do the more beneficial thing and provide lower rates as an incentive to increase the number of computer users and subsequently internet users in Bahrain, but that would be far too noble of them. Especially when they need to spend a fortune changing the image of their website.
What’s far more shocking are the numbers relating to business inet rates. As if it wasn’t bad enough that businesses were paying exorbidant rates for internet access, now they’ve slapped a bandwidth limit on corporate users too?! Ok, so bye bye video-conferencing, bye bye long-distance learning. Not to mention companies in internet related businesses like web design and development.
It’s official, they’ve completely lost it, no rational thought is being put into any decision made by Batelco.
September 19th, 2006 at 9:03 pm
Duh! thats what I’ve been saying to everyone, only no one was listening…
September 19th, 2006 at 10:04 pm
I can accept this if our economy and salaries are as high as UAE or Qatar, but we have the most expensive packages in the poorest country in the region.
BTW, there are unlimted business packages from batelo, it’ll be fair to add them, just to “adjust” the comparison
September 20th, 2006 at 6:13 pm
good point Mohammed, I’ll work on this and amend the table as soon as possible.
September 20th, 2006 at 9:54 pm
dah! … is it me ??? do i need glasses??
where is the comparison ..
i only see the bahraini rates .. where are jordan rates???
Ali
September 20th, 2006 at 9:59 pm
Well well, yet again they buggered everyone up havent they, typical of the tight fisted rich dogs that just want more money in thier pockets n couldnt care less for anyoen else.
i once lost my cool with a customer service rep and demanded to speak there n then on the phone with then at that time big dude at the top,the rep went nuts n didnt know what to do.. i sure wasnt a happy customer, there i was with my pen n paper writting a letter to every english paper on the islam making sure i had my 5 cents worth.
Unless someone who is honest sits there at the big boys chair, we all are going to be screwed over even more.
U cant protest here lol so i suggest some more letters to the news paper with some sarky comments.
September 20th, 2006 at 9:59 pm
island sorry not islam.
September 21st, 2006 at 9:44 am
I actually looked these comparisons up a while ago and found them quite amusing! I wrote a couple of letters to the GDN that were never published, maybe my english skill do not match the likes of, let’s say, Les Horton!
Sid made a very valid point by saying “Batelco could do the more beneficial thing and provide lower rates as an incentive to increase the number of computer users and subsequently internet users in Bahrain, but that would be far too noble of them.”
If we look at Batelco’s immense profits, which are rising every year, I think it would be perfectly feasible to lower the margin on internet usage as if there isn’t a substantial number of internet users, this shouldn’t have a major effect on their profits.
Instead of ranting and raving more on this absolute gem of a website, I am going ot take further action and prepare a worldwide comparison chart which will also include countries with low internet usage and expected profits.
September 21st, 2006 at 10:12 am
Nick, I look forward to you sharing that with us.
September 22nd, 2006 at 5:20 pm
in jordan,they have 2 more ISPs that i know of
and they have unlimited connections and they are CHEAP !!! 1Mbps,120JD every 3 months,do the math
September 23rd, 2006 at 11:12 am
Anyone noticed internet has been quite slow the last few days, almost a week now?
September 23rd, 2006 at 6:00 pm
There is no alternative at this point. either we try to make it less painful by downloading fewer movies at this time or simply wait every month for the new limit
September 24th, 2006 at 12:17 am
yeah Techz its been the same deal with my connection.
September 25th, 2006 at 12:06 am
It’s pretty disgusting really. Isn’t +80million BD profit per year off 700,000 people enough?…
Batelco’s counter to the Jordan prices will be that buying bandwidth from Jordan to the EU Internet exchanges is cheaper than it is from here.
But then, if the Middle East countries’ telcos got off their arses and linked their IP networks together sensibly, that wouldn’t be as much of a problem. I mean, it’s improved. A few years ago, Bahrain to Dubai went via Newark and Miami, and here to Europe is now acceptable, and thanks for that, but it could be much better.
September 25th, 2006 at 1:15 am
that last sentence…….wow…….that made NO sense to me at all, hahaha, I mean what the hell does going from bahrain to dubai via newark and miami has to do with anything…hahahaha, man….europe is nice, they’re all cool there. yeah…imp…I like that name…its cool, hence you must be european.
September 26th, 2006 at 2:23 am
what a shame!!
I say we hire a sharpshooter and take the heads of batelco one by one, it’ll save us alota trouble.
I was just wondering why did batelco invest in Jordan. why Jordan why not anywhere else, then it hit me, its the same reason why it might soon invest in syria, yemen, pakistan and perhaps Bloshistan (if that exists).
Admin:
you might wanna add a comment in the subject that this comparison is between the Jordanain price plans and the Bahrainis, i did’nt get it till i read the comments.
Nick:
save your breath man.. we know, everyone else does, it wont change a thing
imp:
what the hell are you talking about?
September 26th, 2006 at 7:24 am
will do thanks.
September 27th, 2006 at 7:19 pm
The routing issues? Paging Dr Boring - you asked for it!
Not that long ago (within 2 years) Internet traffic from Bahrain to Dubai went:
Bahrain, down the FLAG cable to Dubai, onto the submarine cable (SE-ME-WE or the other one?), down past Oman and Yemen, up the Red Sea, through the Med, past Gibrolta, up around Spain and France to the UK. Then across to New York, down to Miami, back across the Atlantic, and back to Dubai.
Stupid, huh?
I’ve forgotten the Miami to Dubai route - it might have gone via South Africa, or it might have come back through the med. This was similar for Bahrain to Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, etc..
I suspect that the reason was that each Telco arranged Internet connectivity independently, and primarily to the US. The sensible solution would have been to create a Middle East Internet Exchange which bulk buys bandwidth on the cables from DXB and Oman, and also to create routes across Saudi to Egypt and the Med. I guess the political machinations are too great though. Either that or it shows what worthless tonsils their Internet engineering bods were.
Anyway, it took them until last year to sort out the intra-Gulf routing despite the fibre infrastructure existing for ages. It scotched our plan for VPN links between our Middle East offices as we do VoIP. We had to stick with international leased circuits which were more expensive.
Ah…
September 27th, 2006 at 8:05 pm
imp,
that’s true, i used to get 800-1000 ping in Quake3 when playing with friends in Dubai…
i got around 200 in Spain :p
September 30th, 2006 at 7:21 pm
about gaming stuffs
I’m playing world of warcraft with a good ping 200-400ms since the new packages down from 450-600ms, but sadly when my limit ran off monthly (after like 20days) I totally got F***ed with a very high unplayable lag and thats what driving me crazy tbh.
October 7th, 2006 at 4:31 pm
Any other news? :/
October 7th, 2006 at 9:57 pm
they just switched 15BD packages to 10BD,
that’s all
October 9th, 2006 at 1:49 pm
check this out
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/UncapAustralianBroadband/
October 11th, 2006 at 1:41 pm
I just found this… Low internet usage?!?
“Researchers are predicting big things for the small country of Bahrain. With only one ISP, the country has the second highest online penetration rate in the region at more than 22 percent, and Bahrain is poised for more growth, particularly in the e-government sector.
Internet usage — which was first introduced to the small country in 1995 — is expected to reach 32 percent penetration by 2005, according to Madar Research Group. Comparatively, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which comprises seven emirates, currently boasts almost 28 percent penetration while Europe is at 24 percent. Other Internet penetration rates in Gulf Corporation Council Region (GCC) countries include Kuwait at less than 9 percent, and Saudi Arabia at less than 7 percent.”
22% seems like a rather large number of users to me. Hopefully I’ll have something slightly more interesting to post soon.
Batelco’s nearly as bad as Microsoft, most of us use it even though it’s overpriced crap that never works properly!
October 11th, 2006 at 1:43 pm
And i didn’t even realise that was from years ago! I was looking up something i read recently in the paper and obviously got an ancient report!
October 14th, 2006 at 7:59 am
WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING?
We are still getting milked by batelco.
The TRA is coming up with wierd laws and
2Connect doesn’t have anything to offer yet, in fact even their dead website looks like it’s been designed by a silly teenager.
Lightspeed, is still missing in action. Thier site was last updated 9 months ago.
Kalaam has a website that keeps showing 4 employees doing everything.
BIX is useless.
WE DESERVE TO KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON!
We dunno how long we should wait, will it be WiMAX? Satellite connection? current infrastructure? are we waiting for another life outside this planet to tell us what to do?
October 16th, 2006 at 7:25 pm
Well said. However i did speak to 2Connect, and they confirmed sometime this December they will be starting home broadband solutions. Their current infrastructure is through WiMax and Fibre, so presumably it would be a WiMax roll out.
But seriously…what has happened to this site, has it died?
Faraz
October 17th, 2006 at 6:21 am
are you sure faraz?
October 17th, 2006 at 5:09 pm
well i even got more confirmation from 2connect prior to this date .. and still nothing.. i don’t take them seriously anymore .. untill i say hard evidance..
[peace]
October 18th, 2006 at 1:51 pm
guys did u forget that JD is about half the price of BD … 10 JD = 5 BD
putting this in mind .. jordan prices is exactly the same as here
October 18th, 2006 at 5:37 pm
thats right agent007
I just relaised how silly I am, thinking that for a 1MB connection, 13BD unlimited connection is just the same as 40BD with a 15 GB cap.
What was I thinking!
October 21st, 2006 at 2:26 pm
Agent007 I think you’ve misread the data.
Jordan Internet:
JOD299/yr = BHD160/yr = BHD13/mo, unlimited.
Bahrain Internet:
BD40/mo, 15gb limit
October 22nd, 2006 at 4:27 pm
yes im sure,
i have been dealing with 2Connect alot recently and i have found that they are buzzing about something else…. possibley could work out for us. My money is on eid, or possibley 1st Nov.
Faraz
October 27th, 2006 at 9:07 pm
nothing happened yet,
i think batelco updated their system, i used to logon with other username and passwords and get full speed on different accounts, now, it seems that my line is locked to 64kbs doesnt matter which account am loged on,
can anyone confirm?
October 28th, 2006 at 2:32 pm
After some “issues” with a “certain” general manager at 2Connect…. the hi-speed internet mesh network is now back on track and should be going live somewhere at the start of next month (november).. unless of course the company’s GM decides to “mess up” with the implementation team and operations’ process again.
It would be a mock-up just like the Google WiFi service in San Francisco.
As for Batelco.. the reason they’ve started locking down speeds in some areas of Bahrain is due to FLAG’s maintenance work whinch includes repairing of a fault on a cable between Suez and Mumbai is scheduled to commence at 4pm Bahrain time on 1st November and finish at 9am on 7th November.
Speed throttling began since early Friday morning in some parts, might extend to entire network, come the first of next month.
October 28th, 2006 at 2:49 pm
their system demo - screenshots:
1) http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/2884/1mw2.png
2) http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/6929/2ti0.png
3) http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/9642/3qt5.png
October 28th, 2006 at 5:52 pm
few weeks to wait,
i hope we’ll end up with something this time
October 28th, 2006 at 9:46 pm
the bad thing is .. this 2connect thing is taking forever ..
the worse thing is .. we can’t do nothing .. but wait and see..
[peace]
November 2nd, 2006 at 2:08 pm
The 2connect WiMax solution has been put in place in Juffair, or will be very shortly. Apparently anybody with wireless capability will be allowed 2 hours of usage daily completely free as a tester. Shortly is what i was told for the rest of Bahrain. I would give a bit more info but I’m probably not allowed. Wouldn’t want to get anyone in trouble!
Anybody ever seen a 16 number instead of 17? That’s a 2connect landline but they’re currently only offered to corporate users. These will be put on the private market sometime and I have no doubt that I’ll be one of their first customers.
That’s the end of my meagre knowledge, anyone who has anymore please enlighten us!
November 2nd, 2006 at 2:34 pm
Nick, your knowledge is not meagre. A few corrections though. Solution in Juffair only uses WiMax for backhaul. It will soon have two top of the range FSO links to support it and WiMax will be regulated to redundancy. The solution is a Wifi Mesh with a great management software that is very expandable. The lead Engineer on the project is Mr. Henry with a great team working with him to expand this network to cover the whole of Bahrain.
You are correct, this is only a trial and you are correct in that we have our own number range currently only available to corporates.
Now what I’m wondering is: What else do you know? Since you know so much, I’m wondering if you know my number? Give me a call so we can chat. No problems, just interested.
November 2nd, 2006 at 4:52 pm
hi Fahad,
Fron where did you get your info, are you working for them?
November 2nd, 2006 at 5:19 pm
By the way, anyone registering for RIPE Regional conference? Come on internet lovers, you should at least go listen to what’s happening in the industry.
November 2nd, 2006 at 6:20 pm
Mark, Fahad is the MD of 2Connect Bahrain, as for his information, well he knows what he knows, whether he decides to give it out completely without grey shading it up is well his right as is anyone else\’s on this thread.
Of course 2Connect are up against some crap within and across the boundary… What we know of 2Connect is that they\’re the folks who brought the TRA in to this country and gave them the necessary basic training before Batelco collared TRA and went to bed with them. The 2Connect were made to beg like little puppy dogs for their licensing and were given crap treatment by TRA and other operators.
From a regulator and operator\’s perspective this is what we know, that there are 3 key operators that were given temporary wifi licenses by the TRA in September-October last year — Batelco, Kalaam Telecom and 2Connect. That meant that those expired in 3 months from the date of issue and the TRA didnt need to renew them, but they seem to have been renewed otherwise 2Connect wouldn\’t have been allowed by TRA to bring in the current Wifi Mesh Network equipment that they have, the air2air equipment.. or maybe \”WASTA\” was used - who knows.. everyone is using wasta today anyway..(most frequent guywho uses wasta more than 365 times in a day is sitting inthe oval office in the pentagon.. so wasta is now a common thing, let us just say \”gift\” instead of \”wasta\”)
2Connect have two types of number blocks (95050000 -95059999 & 95150000-95159999) which were allocated along with an IPSC (int\’l signal point code) by the TRA to them at corporate usage rates @ 10000 block size as with kalaam telecom and Mena. Their IPSC is 4-052-2 and shows like most of the others apart from MTC and Batelco and others that it\’s not for voip. As for these temporary Wifi License that 2Connect have, they are not supposed to be retailing wifi services on them! They can use it for doing free trials and any internal operations but they once they start selling the service out the and if it\’s based on the temp wifi license, then TRA as usual can cough and blow the mesh over.
So what\’s going on?
For starters, we don\’t know why the BIX is classified by RIPE as an \”extra small\”, \”Local Internet Registry\” offering service in Bahrain along with Kalaam Telecom and Mena while 2Connect have been classified as \”Small\” \”Local Internet Registry\”. (Maybe good ole Rick @ 2Connect or Murad at TRA can tell us)
It is highly likely that 2Connect have adoptd to use light-licensing equipment since they have been allocated spectrum up to 2.4GHz band, but then according to a document we recently saw from another operator, 2Connect also have 5.3GHZ Band…. also according toour friends in TRA they\’re going to give or have given 2 fixed wireless operators the 3.5GHz band (must be 2Connect and Kalaam Telecom) since 2.5 GHz to 2.7 GHz & 5.470 GHz to 5.725 GHZ Band is mainly used by governmental applications.
Also the landing points which Fahad mentions must have something to do with Mobily in Saudi Arabia as someone from there is one of the investors in 2Connect or it might be with mobily via a project called Arab Peering Project (ARPP) coming from the
ARISPA (Arab Regional ISPs & DSPs Association) which is a non profit independent organization acting in the interests of Internet & Data Communications services providers in the Arab region.
(See this thread for more information: http://www.ripe.net/maillists/ncc-archives/ncc-regional-middle-east/2006/msg00108.html
Also Fahad will be speaking at this RIPE meeting on Cooperation Within the Network Community from 5-6pm on 14th. Please please bix and your people, make time to come and attend a very good presentation the next day by Gurab on Design and Construction of Regional Exchange facilities, anyone else planning to go headway into KSA with their telecom deregulation in a few days there, come to this presentation the next day.
To see the RIPE meeting agenda:
http://www.ripe.net/meetings/regional/manama-2006/agenda.html
Register for free online (before November 10):
https://lirportal.ripe.net/lirportal/meeting/registration/meeting.html?id=38
And Circletel, get a better website that renders properly on firefox, please.
Just thinking now, we would like to be business partners with Mr. Henry, and take about 5 packages for Batelco\’s bsuiness unilimited 2Mbps lines for 2500bd a month, put each line in one city of bahrain, use Mr. Henry\’s network systems and expertise and roll the service out for free, we aren\’t breaking any tra rules, dont need a license, we just want to give internet users in bahrain a free deal with good connectivity, cover up the 2500bd cost per month with advertisements on the wifi mesh from various companies like bms, infocall, al hilal, etc. end of the day advertisers are happy, users are happy, Mr. Henry and his team will be happy and TRA is fine with us.. Batelco is still getting paid their 2500 line services but most users will switch over, residential mostly, so they may loose their residential market but not corporate… better yet.. we can go to Kalaam Telecom and use their business packages - Kalaam Connect and do the same thing for less instead of giving batelco 2500bd a month…so use air2air main gateway and their repeaters, kalaam telecom business broadband of 2mbps lines (about 5-10) and sme advert companies - andre at bms, infocall, etc. and get a community-driven service for the users.. atleast we wont get ripped off by batelco or upcoming companies like batelco…
any takers? is great for changing the face of internet in our country
November 2nd, 2006 at 6:26 pm
too many dashes, is it just us or does this wifi mesh in Juffair not accept posting from a treo? or maybe its the MOI intercepting our messages on old kgb snooping devices.. anyway
November 2nd, 2006 at 8:43 pm
Why isn’t my latest post showing up? hmmmmmmmmmmmmm
November 3rd, 2006 at 12:40 am
Mahmood, I’m trying to make a long post. Every time I try to post it, it says it’s a duplicate post that I’ve already posted before. Advice?
November 3rd, 2006 at 2:34 pm
Without technical jargon,
When can you offer people some decent packages?
November 3rd, 2006 at 2:49 pm
Ummmm Without techincal jargon, as soon as we are sure we have full coverage, no weather issues, enough spares, and access to customers (web based, outlet based, resellers, and so on). Two weeks?
Right now only Juffair but give us a few more weeks and you’ll get it all over the place!
I still want to post my long post though! It took me a whole three minutes to write
November 3rd, 2006 at 3:13 pm
Fahad,
Thanks for the replay =]
i guess it’s better to send an email to mahmood,
whatever you’ll say will not be related to this main news item anyway (Biting the hand that feeds you).
November 4th, 2006 at 12:19 am
You are right, it’s not. It’s a reply to Yacoub & Yasmine Doe.
I guess I’ll send him an email.
By the way, we have found something out. The antennas, while within the power regulations in Bahrain, are still too powerful for wifi devices. The devices detect signal as far as Adliya but of course, with that distance, they can’t send anything back. The system works, but not perfectly. We’ll be installing some directional antennas with a different radio spread pattern instead of the Omni ones we have now to limit the broadcast range of our equipment. Atthe sametime, we’ll be looking for more roof tops to install more gateways and repeaters (toughest part of the installation).
November 4th, 2006 at 9:02 am
Do you guys plan to eventually come to Sehla area? You mentioned 2 weeks…is that to cover most area’s, or to have Juffair up and running.
November 4th, 2006 at 4:03 pm
Two weeks to launch the service. But we are going to be expanding the network really fast so yes, we’ll cover your area soon bro.
Fahad.
November 4th, 2006 at 4:31 pm
what about riffa and isa town?
November 4th, 2006 at 4:36 pm
Cool. I wouldn’t mind a antennae on my roof
Out of interest what is the range between your WiMax nodes? several KM?
Faraz
November 4th, 2006 at 5:39 pm
Actually it is only half true of what Fahad said regarding the system broadcasting the SSID further than what people can receive to get on the mesh.
(http://boycottbatelco.com/?p=71#comment-17549)
In fact it is only the case if you have a standard Centrino laptop which I use to log on from my apartment via a Hi Gain aerial.
Now with the right kind of aerial you should be able to hook up to the wifi mesh network from approximately 7 km away.
A little lesson to be learnt here:
“Geeks do not mislead”
November 4th, 2006 at 9:05 pm
iGeek is 100% correct. However, we cannot engineer the network with people who know how to use high gain antennas in mind
So yes, you CAN connect to it from 7km away. Actually the best my engineers have managed is 12k so far. However, once you put more gateways and repeaters, with this spectrum spread and power, we’ll end up interfering with ourselves.
Can’t have that
As to Faraz, the best we’ve done so far with WiMax is 20km. Realistically, this has nothing to do with WiMax (a protocol) and more to do with the antennas, line of site, and interference on the channel of broadcast. If we change the base station and put a 802.11 there, we’d still be able to connect. The beauty of WiMax is in the bandwidth per hz of spectrum used. Even at 16QAM modulation you get plenty.
Finally, about Riffa and Isa Town, Confused, I live in Riffa. So trust me, I want it covered
November 4th, 2006 at 10:03 pm
Read every one of your comments Fahad, great news.
I do hope that the uncapped packages aren’t tyranically expensive >_>.
I’m a “gaming ‘h0r’”, I need loads and loads of bandwidth! ;).
November 4th, 2006 at 10:16 pm
I feel like firig a shehab missle at batelco, they are realy PISSING ME OFF, oh and fahad 2connect will SAR be coverd by 2connect, and will the speed be more or less than 2mb.
November 5th, 2006 at 5:51 pm
Sorry to say that at this time it will be under 2mb. 2mbps is VERY expensive for us so we can’t offer it at a competitive price. However, we have future plans (not near future though) to increase bandwidth offerings.
As to coverage: We are planning on 100% of Bahrain. It will take time, but it’ll surely happen.
And no tyranically expensive packages. They will reflect our true cost and a fair margin. They’ll reduce in price as we get more users. They’ll always be updated in terms of service and benefits. And overall, they’ll rock
November 5th, 2006 at 10:13 pm
Fahad, are we talking here about cheap unlimited packages? Or it will be like Batelco?
Can you give us some hints about the packages, and their prices?
November 5th, 2006 at 11:30 pm
mouth is definitely watering Fahad!
November 6th, 2006 at 2:02 pm
Depends on what you guys consider cheap!
1Mbps unlimited for BD5? Well, there is no way we can currently do that. It’d be cheaper to shut down and go home.
But reasonable? Yes, definately.
Any ex-Batelco staff on this site? Maybe they can help me demonstrate costings so you guys can guess at our prices
November 6th, 2006 at 2:02 pm
By the way, for now, forget prices
The service is up Free!
Um AlHasam, Tubli, and surrounding areas are next!
November 6th, 2006 at 7:57 pm
Hamad town will be last i guess :p
November 6th, 2006 at 10:08 pm
psst - get to muqsha quick :p.
November 7th, 2006 at 2:51 pm
Hi Fahad,
Since it is free for time being, then how we can use it??
November 7th, 2006 at 10:56 pm
Hi fahad! When will 2connect wifi mesh come to MUHARRAQ? Any news!
November 8th, 2006 at 5:27 pm
I’ll start with post 68: Go to Juffair, use a laptop or PDA. If you live there and you don’t have a laptop or PDA, buy a wireless access card for your PC with a long enough cable so you can place the antenna near a window. You’ll be on.
Other posts: Deployment plan continuously changes and depends on finding suitable rooftops to place the repeaters and gateways. We can’t say exactly when we’ll get to a particular area but we are working hard on getting there!
In the mean time, it’d be very nice if you tell everyone we ROCK
Fahad.
November 10th, 2006 at 1:45 pm
any new news?
November 10th, 2006 at 3:21 pm
You suck, no you dont’ rock Fahad! Hold on.. you don’t suck as an individual, collectively your firm is pretty shitty… you know the answers, get some professionals in first who actually know what they’re talking about!
Late nights at work and crashing the bars on the weekend, getting drunk and splitting one’s sides to everyone else… honestly, knowing how much of resistance you’ve been up against when trying to bring the net to bahrain in the past by the powers that be, is still no reason to treat other people like shit!
you are nothing but talk, you tell people you’ll pay them so much if they join you or work with you and then you find some lame excuse not to, go back 2 years ago Fahad… revisit the past, you may have shut the door but the skeletons continue to pile up and the stench is never going to leave you.
Maybe Dr. Abdulaziz Abdulatif Jazzar at Malaz in KSA must be briefed on what really goes on in Bahrain at 2connect, other than sitting on your board of directors and being a prime investor he’s got no idea of what is happening and how his capital is being used, dont think he would be pleased but then facts are stubborn!
business is business, but you’re not professional at all! Hosting the RIPE conference here in Bahrain is all well and good, but 2connect have lost the vision, transparency and the want to make a change that it started out with, you’ve lost your focus, your development road map has stalled and you don’t keep your word. Hope no RF engineering graduate, CS graduates or other professionals ever join your company for the crap you dish out!
may you can start with treating your people with respect and pull up your socks and get to where you were in the start - a young company with much potential and a promising future…
but right now it seems all too bleak, you should tell the consumers here what’s really going on instead of giving people more false hopes!
November 10th, 2006 at 4:24 pm
The interesting posts keep coming
Sounds like someone bit you on the ass buddy. Whoever you are 
Although I have to say, all of those AT 2Connect are proffessionals. We only keep the good guys
Anyone who we don’t keep… Well, we have our reasons
November 10th, 2006 at 4:25 pm
P.S. Please try to keep the discussion on topic
November 11th, 2006 at 4:02 pm
formerly 2connect…go “fork yourself”
November 12th, 2006 at 12:18 am
well …things keep getting fishier and fishier..
November 12th, 2006 at 10:29 am
Fahad,
To be completely honest I’ve just signed up for one of your international calling packages to stop my wallet screaming at me! I never really knew about the service until one of my friends (an employee of 2connect) asked if i’d like to sign up. So far your service has been absolutely superb and I must agree that the people working at 2connect ARE extremely professional and helpful. As for your website to track your calls and expenditure, it’s fab!
Well, as you can now tell i don’t know your number, I just obtained a bit of info at the right time! I’m no expert on this subject, I’m just an extremely interested individual. As I missed out on studying software engineering
I like to keep my computer knowledge as up to date as possible. If there’s any updates please keep us all informed!
November 12th, 2006 at 10:32 am
Fahad,
2connect’s website doesn’t provide allot of information about what your company has to offer, at least for now.
from what i see, there are some services available but as customers, we dunno anything yet.
November 12th, 2006 at 11:47 am
Guys,
Thank you for your comments and support on our quality and proffessionalism. We appreciate it. It definately put a smile on our faces and it makes it all so much more worth it!
Sorry I haven’t been on this post for a couple of days. Major cable cut effecting services. No fix date still so some things are a bit slow and we are having to re-route everything via Singapore
As to our website, you are correct. We’ve never needed it before as we where working on corporate services only and those are 1 to 1 relationships.
We are launching a new one soon.
Anyway guys, please don’t attack ‘Formerly 2Connect’. For starters, the weak attempt at acting like he has a lot of knowledge is all that was needed to figure out he’s not formerly anything.
I mean, we never call Abdul Azziz by his three names, and while I have the utmost respect for the man and his intellegence, don’t you think that any complaints about how we are running the business should go to the chairman of the board? Not just a board member? As to major investors, I myself am a major investor
So that definately breaks the point in two.
Besides, formerly 2Connect insulted Abdul Azziz (I don’t mind the insult to me, but the insult to him was going over the top buddy) by stating that an avid and intellegent investor like him wouldn’t even know the financial position or even what the basics of the direction of the company is. You think anyone with a valid point would be so… Silly?
Finally, a message to Formerly 2Connect
I don’t drink. Go re-examine your facts. Everyone in the company or who has ever worked here knows that. So try again whoever you are 
Maybe pick another name this time? You never know… One failed attempt… Well, maybe the next will succeed. I doubt it but you never know. You might finally get some facts that are not publically available on the MOC site right.
Oh and finally, anyone who has a valid complaint should be brave enough to put their own name where their mouth is
November 17th, 2006 at 10:21 am
this is what people think when asked
are Question Bad / Good
Batelco is close to smoking
Question BAD GOOD
Americans 29% 71%
ARABS 42% 58%
Bahrainis 32% 68%
British 21% 79%
Bush 25% 75%
George Washin 23% 77%
Smoking 35% 65%
Batelco 31% 69%
Jews 42% 58%
Jesus 15% 85%
Total 25% 75%
Total sample 142,122,900 421,405,000
November 17th, 2006 at 1:21 pm
any1 has problems with the internet these days? always redialing after u connect for like 2~3mins
November 17th, 2006 at 5:20 pm
What???
Does anyone else seem to have magically upgraded to a 2 Mbps connection ? ( from a 1 Mbps connection)
November 17th, 2006 at 6:54 pm
Amazed, what are you talking about?
November 17th, 2006 at 10:51 pm
mine is just soooo for the past few days
November 17th, 2006 at 11:29 pm
mine has been at dial up speed for the past three weeks, boy do I miss those unlimited packages we use to have.
November 18th, 2006 at 4:44 pm
Amazed, apparently my connectioned speed seems to displayed as 2.0 Mbps as well for the past 2 weeks or so, but obviously the actual speed hasn’t changed one bit (it’s still 1 mbps).
I don’t think we’re gonna get away with any freebees, Batelco’s surely not gonna give ‘em out.
November 19th, 2006 at 1:48 pm
Amazed,
I have a 512kbps connection, but it shows as 2.0mbps.
If you try to download something, you can see the transfer speed not going above normal, ie, in your case around 100KBps and 50-60KBps for me.
There is nothing in fact to get excited about.
Well, the weather seems nice, maybe we can disconnect ourselves for sometime.
November 19th, 2006 at 10:01 pm
i have 48mb left till 15th next month