Broadband in Dubai? Any better now? Options?

sunnfun · 18th July 2008, 23:12

I've just moved over from sunny florida to sunny dubai and just found EmiratesMac. Very nice site! I hope I can contribute some in the future. I'm a Mac User since 2001 and have been buying pretty anything they put out since then...

Well, almost. Not the really expensive stuff...

But for now just a few questions:

- I'm used to fairly fast service in the US (I had a 6Mb+ DSL line last) and am trying to sort out my options here. I've got a 3.5G Router right now which I have hooked up to a Gigabit Ethernet Airport Express 802.11n. My experience over the last few days is pretty bad, sometimes it's lightning fast and sometimes it comes to a complete stop. It seems to come and go in 20 minute intervals. I've been trying to upload a few larger files via ftp and iDisk and could never get past the 70MB threshold where the upload either stalled or disconnected. Is that a common experience? Downloading the iPhone 2.0 fw took me about 7 tries... All the time eating bandwith... etisalat tech support is no help. Seems that UMTS is a fairly new technology here and maybe they are just having teething problems or is this normal?

- I'll move in my flat soon and only etisalat services are available there (I called du and they don't offer service there yet). I don't want to stay with the 3.5G service because it only has 10GB per month (Promotional 100GB for the first two months) and I burn through that fairly quick... How are the over all experiences with ADSL? I've found a thread here from a couple of months ago and the experiences were pretty bad...

- Are there affordable business accounts available that are a bit faster than 4 Mb?

- Any experiences with renting/buying movies via AppleTV? How about HD Movies? Is the speed sufficient? My wifes coming over in a few months and she wants to be able to download her TV Shows.

I'm only talking about legit downloads through the iTunes Store btw.

Any other tips and tricks for a dubai newbie?

Thanks a bunch and thanks again for this great forum!

Ciao,
Jens

fangpyre · 19th July 2008, 10:13

Hi Jen,
Welcome to Dubai & the site.

Here's the 411.
Internet access sucks here.
You will find that few options will offer speeds you are used to back home.
You also find that speeds are slower for a line compared to the same speed line in the US.
So a 4MB here is much slower than a 4MB there.
Unfortunately, you will also find that going for faster connections doesn't yield the result you expect.
So if you have a 2MB connection and upgrade to a 4MB you won't get twice the speed.

Yes, the 3.5 router isn't used much here.
Etisalat isn't pushing it much for some reason.
And people don't use it much because the prices are not that good (i.e. terrible)
I haven't tried it myself, but I gues DSL is better.

Things a few months back had recessed from the standard level of suck.
Now they suck just right.

Generally speaking, stick to Etisalat when you get the choice.
As bad as it is, its still better than Du, much better.

As for ATV, it works fine.
You will need an Apple Account (which I assume you have).
You can buy and rent as you wish.
You WILL have to be more patient.
And you might want to give your downloads a chance to download before you start watching, especially for rentals.
Otherwise, the movie might cut off at one point, thus ruining the movie.
And in a rental, would have started the 24 hour timer.

Hope you enjoy your stay here.

Magnus · 19th July 2008, 11:49

Well I think fangpyre pretty much covered it all, not much left for the rest of us to add. Welcome to Dubai and EmiratesMac. You may want to join our User Group. We meet once a month in Dubai and you get discount at various stores for Apple stuff.

hanzo · 19th July 2008, 18:15

To build on what fangpyre said...

I don't know what the bog-standard ADSL modem that Etisalat provides is, mine was a Siemens something-or-other. In terms of basic connectivity, it worked "well enough". That said, the configurability and uptime were both terrible. While I don't have broad experience with it, we had the same model in five different villas, and each experienced the same problems.

I made it a point to the replace them all with a Belkin ADSL Wireless+N router/modem/ap (can go look at the exact model if you're interested), and it's been wonderful.

I don't know what your line of work is, but you mentioned your wife is still back in the States. If you are concerned about privacy, you may be interested in a VPN account. I use Witopia ( Welcome to WiTopia >> Where Freedom and Security Meet ) PPTP with great success, and you will even find that your iPhone and OS X support it with ease.

There are a lot of additional benefits to a VPN connection here as well, security aside.

If you intend to do a great deal of shopping from online retailers like Amazon (or eBay and the like), you might want to look at an Aramex "Shop 'n Ship" account ( Aramex International ).

Regarding the EMUG membership, the benefits (especially living here) are well worth it. Like the discount. You may not be aware, but Apple doesn't have an "official" presence here in the UAE, as such a third party (IMC) handles this region. The prices are exponentially higher than the US, so the discount really helps.

Welcome!

sunnfun · 19th July 2008, 19:07

Thanks everybody for the welcome and the great tips!

Looks like the behaviour of my 3.5G router is not normal then compared to a regular DSL line? Because I can't even download a simple video podcast (230MB); I've been trying to download one all day today and it always stops after anywhere between 70 and 150MB. I can't imagine downloading a movie through the Apple TV with that.

I have a witopia account (personal VPN SSL) and it's the same wether it's active or not. Actually witopia won't stay on any longer than maybe 10 minutes. It just quits and the icon just disappears in the menubar. I can't reopen it, I have to reboot the computer. Would that be any better with a PPTP connection?

Judging from your experiences with regular DSL, I guess I can attribute a lot of this to the 3.5G, it just seems not ready for primetime yet.

Thanks for the tips about Aramex and EMUG, I'll look into it one I get settled. For now my biggest concern is that I won't be able to up- or download anything larger than a few MB...

Thanks,
Jens

noixe · 19th July 2008, 19:11

welcome to the website

i think every1has UNDERSTATED the problem with etisalat's broadband here :P it is much worse than wat they've said... having said that, it's still much much better compared to Du, so stick with Etisalat

hope you enjoy the website

sunnfun · 19th July 2008, 21:34

Just a quick note: I've run a few tests on speedtest.net with various servers in Europe and the US and I get consistently between 3500 Kbs down and 289 Kbs down with the 3.5G router. It's just that it won't stay online for more than 15 minutes at a time. Is that the same on the DSL service or is the DSL just slower?

Thanks,
Jens

hanzo · 19th July 2008, 23:09

RE: WiTopia, your SSL account should be eligible for a free PPTP account login, contact support.
The SSL client they provide for mac (based on TunnelBlick) is *terrible*. Much better to use the built in VPN.

As for your issue, this sounds like a latency/fragmentation issue. I am not familiar enough with the intricacies of routing network traffic over a 3.5g connection, so take this with a grain of salt.

If you are able, you may want to try adjusting the MTU setting on the 3.5g router to a smaller size to reduce packet fragmentation (which may be a cause of the stalls). Conversely, you may want to try using a protocol that supports resumes (which doesn't help you with iTunes, sorry) when downloading large files (eg instead of HTTP use FTP, I recommend Cyberduck as a client).

sunnfun · 20th July 2008, 22:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by hanzo

RE: WiTopia, your SSL account should be eligible for a free PPTP account login, contact support.
The SSL client they provide for mac (based on TunnelBlick) is *terrible*. Much better to use the built in VPN.

Thanks! That worked much much better!

Quote:

As for your issue, this sounds like a latency/fragmentation issue. I am not familiar enough with the intricacies of routing network traffic over a 3.5g connection, so take this with a grain of salt.

If you are able, you may want to try adjusting the MTU setting on the 3.5g router to a smaller size to reduce packet fragmentation (which may be a cause of the stalls). Conversely, you may want to try using a protocol that supports resumes (which doesn't help you with iTunes, sorry) when downloading large files (eg instead of HTTP use FTP, I recommend Cyberduck as a client).

I have now set the PPP idle time to 3600 seconds (was 600) maybe that helps. If not I'll start tinkering with the MTU (Which is set to 1500, that should be fine though).

Well, small steps, I guess...

Thanks again,
Jens

hanzo · 21st July 2008, 19:26

Ah...it never even occurred to me that it was using PPP for authentication...

I am curious if it improves any with the higher value..if it does, but you still experience occasional stalls, you might try running a low bandwidth (something) in the background to "keep alive" with fresh responses. Maybe like a simple script that pings a random address once every minute..

Keep us posted.

18th July 2008, 23:12	#1 (permalink)
sunnfun Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Dubai, UAE Posts: 24	Broadband in Dubai? Any better now? Options? I've just moved over from sunny florida to sunny dubai and just found EmiratesMac. Very nice site! I hope I can contribute some in the future. I'm a Mac User since 2001 and have been buying pretty anything they put out since then... Well, almost. Not the really expensive stuff... But for now just a few questions: - I'm used to fairly fast service in the US (I had a 6Mb+ DSL line last) and am trying to sort out my options here. I've got a 3.5G Router right now which I have hooked up to a Gigabit Ethernet Airport Express 802.11n. My experience over the last few days is pretty bad, sometimes it's lightning fast and sometimes it comes to a complete stop. It seems to come and go in 20 minute intervals. I've been trying to upload a few larger files via ftp and iDisk and could never get past the 70MB threshold where the upload either stalled or disconnected. Is that a common experience? Downloading the iPhone 2.0 fw took me about 7 tries... All the time eating bandwith... etisalat tech support is no help. Seems that UMTS is a fairly new technology here and maybe they are just having teething problems or is this normal? - I'll move in my flat soon and only etisalat services are available there (I called du and they don't offer service there yet). I don't want to stay with the 3.5G service because it only has 10GB per month (Promotional 100GB for the first two months) and I burn through that fairly quick... How are the over all experiences with ADSL? I've found a thread here from a couple of months ago and the experiences were pretty bad... - Are there affordable business accounts available that are a bit faster than 4 Mb? - Any experiences with renting/buying movies via AppleTV? How about HD Movies? Is the speed sufficient? My wifes coming over in a few months and she wants to be able to download her TV Shows. I'm only talking about legit downloads through the iTunes Store btw. Any other tips and tricks for a dubai newbie? Thanks a bunch and thanks again for this great forum! Ciao, Jens

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

19th July 2008, 10:13	#2 (permalink)
fangpyre Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Dubai Posts: 1,417	Hi Jen, Welcome to Dubai & the site. Here's the 411. Internet access sucks here. You will find that few options will offer speeds you are used to back home. You also find that speeds are slower for a line compared to the same speed line in the US. So a 4MB here is much slower than a 4MB there. Unfortunately, you will also find that going for faster connections doesn't yield the result you expect. So if you have a 2MB connection and upgrade to a 4MB you won't get twice the speed. Yes, the 3.5 router isn't used much here. Etisalat isn't pushing it much for some reason. And people don't use it much because the prices are not that good (i.e. terrible) I haven't tried it myself, but I gues DSL is better. Things a few months back had recessed from the standard level of suck. Now they suck just right. Generally speaking, stick to Etisalat when you get the choice. As bad as it is, its still better than Du, much better. As for ATV, it works fine. You will need an Apple Account (which I assume you have). You can buy and rent as you wish. You WILL have to be more patient. And you might want to give your downloads a chance to download before you start watching, especially for rentals. Otherwise, the movie might cut off at one point, thus ruining the movie. And in a rental, would have started the 24 hour timer. Hope you enjoy your stay here.

19th July 2008, 11:49	#3 (permalink)
Magnus Administrator Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Dubai Posts: 8,410	Well I think fangpyre pretty much covered it all, not much left for the rest of us to add. Welcome to Dubai and EmiratesMac. You may want to join our User Group. We meet once a month in Dubai and you get discount at various stores for Apple stuff.

19th July 2008, 18:15	#4 (permalink)
hanzo Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Abu Dhabi Posts: 178	To build on what fangpyre said... I don't know what the bog-standard ADSL modem that Etisalat provides is, mine was a Siemens something-or-other. In terms of basic connectivity, it worked "well enough". That said, the configurability and uptime were both terrible. While I don't have broad experience with it, we had the same model in five different villas, and each experienced the same problems. I made it a point to the replace them all with a Belkin ADSL Wireless+N router/modem/ap (can go look at the exact model if you're interested), and it's been wonderful. I don't know what your line of work is, but you mentioned your wife is still back in the States. If you are concerned about privacy, you may be interested in a VPN account. I use Witopia ( Welcome to WiTopia >> Where Freedom and Security Meet ) PPTP with great success, and you will even find that your iPhone and OS X support it with ease. There are a lot of additional benefits to a VPN connection here as well, security aside. If you intend to do a great deal of shopping from online retailers like Amazon (or eBay and the like), you might want to look at an Aramex "Shop 'n Ship" account ( Aramex International ). Regarding the EMUG membership, the benefits (especially living here) are well worth it. Like the discount. You may not be aware, but Apple doesn't have an "official" presence here in the UAE, as such a third party (IMC) handles this region. The prices are exponentially higher than the US, so the discount really helps. Welcome!

19th July 2008, 19:07	#5 (permalink)
sunnfun Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Dubai, UAE Posts: 24	Thanks everybody for the welcome and the great tips! Looks like the behaviour of my 3.5G router is not normal then compared to a regular DSL line? Because I can't even download a simple video podcast (230MB); I've been trying to download one all day today and it always stops after anywhere between 70 and 150MB. I can't imagine downloading a movie through the Apple TV with that. I have a witopia account (personal VPN SSL) and it's the same wether it's active or not. Actually witopia won't stay on any longer than maybe 10 minutes. It just quits and the icon just disappears in the menubar. I can't reopen it, I have to reboot the computer. Would that be any better with a PPTP connection? Judging from your experiences with regular DSL, I guess I can attribute a lot of this to the 3.5G, it just seems not ready for primetime yet. Thanks for the tips about Aramex and EMUG, I'll look into it one I get settled. For now my biggest concern is that I won't be able to up- or download anything larger than a few MB... Thanks, Jens

19th July 2008, 19:11	#6 (permalink)
noixe Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Abu Dhabi Posts: 372	welcome to the website i think every1has UNDERSTATED the problem with etisalat's broadband here :P it is much worse than wat they've said... having said that, it's still much much better compared to Du, so stick with Etisalat hope you enjoy the website

19th July 2008, 21:34	#7 (permalink)
sunnfun Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Dubai, UAE Posts: 24	Just a quick note: I've run a few tests on speedtest.net with various servers in Europe and the US and I get consistently between 3500 Kbs down and 289 Kbs down with the 3.5G router. It's just that it won't stay online for more than 15 minutes at a time. Is that the same on the DSL service or is the DSL just slower? Thanks, Jens

19th July 2008, 23:09	#8 (permalink)
hanzo Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Abu Dhabi Posts: 178	RE: WiTopia, your SSL account should be eligible for a free PPTP account login, contact support. The SSL client they provide for mac (based on TunnelBlick) is terrible. Much better to use the built in VPN. As for your issue, this sounds like a latency/fragmentation issue. I am not familiar enough with the intricacies of routing network traffic over a 3.5g connection, so take this with a grain of salt. If you are able, you may want to try adjusting the MTU setting on the 3.5g router to a smaller size to reduce packet fragmentation (which may be a cause of the stalls). Conversely, you may want to try using a protocol that supports resumes (which doesn't help you with iTunes, sorry) when downloading large files (eg instead of HTTP use FTP, I recommend Cyberduck as a client).

21st July 2008, 19:26	#10 (permalink)
hanzo Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Abu Dhabi Posts: 178	Ah...it never even occurred to me that it was using PPP for authentication... I am curious if it improves any with the higher value..if it does, but you still experience occasional stalls, you might try running a low bandwidth (something) in the background to "keep alive" with fresh responses. Maybe like a simple script that pings a random address once every minute.. Keep us posted.