76340.2761@compuserve.com (Mike Doughney) (11/03/90)
I'm in the middle of an extended visit to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Here's a summary of the telephone system in the Kingdom. Telephone Equipment: Stores here sell Japanese, Taiwanese and Korean telephones of all descriptions; in hotels here I've seen ITT, Stromberg-Carlson, Northern Telecom, and French made phones. American phones work here without electrical modification, but there's no standardization on connectors. In addition to the RJ11 and four pin plugs used in the U.S., a two pin plug, a plug with four large pins in a trapezoid arrangement, and a three wire slot type plug are also seen here. Every building is different, depending on what organization built it, and this lack of standardization extends to the AC power, which is 120 volts on U.S. type connectors or 220 on European two-pin or U.S. type connectors. I noticed in a newspaper article here that Hitachi switches are one of the brands used. Dial-tone, busy and ringing sounds are European, but hotel PBX's and certain exchanges provide U.S. type dial tone. I haven't had any difficulty completing local calls here, and transmission quality is generally good. Since I haven't seen any standard phone type in businesses here, I'm fairly sure that the Ministry of PTT doesn't usually provide a phone. Some stores sell a Korean made phone which has the Saudi logo and both Arabic and Western numerals on the keys. (Yes, numerals here are completely different from those used in most languages.) Touch-tone service is apparently standard at no extra cost. Calling Area: The entire city of Riyadh and a few small towns nearby are a local calling area. Calls in this area cost 0.05 Saudi Riyals (1.3 cents) per six minutes from a private phone, or 0.10 SR per minute from a pay phone. Calls outside this area, but inside the country, range from 0.20 SR (5.3 cents) to 1.50 SR (40 cents) per minute; a nearby city about 60 km away is in the 0.20 SR band. Kingdom-wide toll-free 800 number service is available; some of these numbers begin with 1. USA Direct service was temporarily available on 1-800-100; I don't know if it's still available as the PBX I'm on won't allow me to dial the number. International Calling: Direct international dialing is available from private phones, the access code is '00'. International calls are allowed from specially marked payphones only. Cuba, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, and Yugoslavia are listed in the phone book as direct dial countries, while the USSR, Poland, Romania and China are listed in the rate directory but are not direct dialable. Israel is not included in either list. Rates to the continental US are 9 SR ($2.40) per minute direct dialed, 36 SR ($9.63) first three minutes station to station operator handled and 9 SR each additional. Alaska is 16 SR ($4.26), Hawaii is 18 SR ($4.81) and Puerto Rico is 22 SR ($5.87) per minute direct dialed. For all countries there is a 20% discount from 23:00 to 08:00 daily, except for the UK and the US where regular rates apply between 08:00 Thursday to 23:00 on Saturday. The weekend here is Thursday and Friday. Rates to the adjacent countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and United Arab Emirates are 3.50SR ($0.93) per minute, and 2.45SR ($0.65) per minute from 22:00 to 08:00 daily, Friday from 08:00 to 22:00, and on certain Islamic holidays. The rate list includes "Antarctic" at 18 SR per minute direct dialed. I think this was some kind of inside joke! The Phone Book: The phone book is two volumes: an English and an Arabic version. Both look a lot like a standard American phone book, with a big color photo on the cover and a modified Yellow Pages logo. It almost looks like American workers had a hand in its production; the Yellow Pages includes all the little promotional ads like "There are eight directories Kingdom-wide - increase your business by advertising in more than one" and "The Yellow Pages works 365 days a year"; also lots of reminders to "Call before you dig". There's a full page section on how to make Inmarsat telephone and telex calls; calls from the Kingdom to a ship are billed at 24 SR ($6.42) per minute. Mobile telephone service is advertised; it is some type of VHF system and not cellular as we know it. Emergency, business office, and directory assistance numbers are three digit numbers in the 900 range. Telephone exchanges begin with 220 and end at 786; apparently there are none starting with 8 or 9, at least in Riyadh. All phone numbers are 7 digits. Police is 999, fire is 998, ambulance is 997, traffic police is 993, and a "speaking clock" in English is on 963. There are maps showing where the subscription and billing offices are located, and a detailed city map showing the areas that each exchange serves. The term "NXX" is used on the map and on a table showing the different billing cycles by exchange number. The term "rate center" is used on the national rate chart. Send followups/questions directly to me, I'm not regularly reading the Digest right now. Mike Doughney, IDB Communications Group Inc. Unit K-5, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (76340.2761@compuserve.com) "Affiliation given for identification purposes only" [Moderator's Note: Thanks for an excellent report! And for those with followups, do please send them to the Digest as well as direct to the writer. Thanks. PAT]
HWT@bnr.ca (Henry Troup) (11/06/90)
Mike Doughney writes: > It almost looks like American workers had a hand in its production; Bell Canada built and used to operate the Saudi phone system, on contract for the government. I think that the latest operations contract went to someone else. So the central office switches will be a mix of 1-ESS and DMS-100/200, as my memory of the Saudi connection is that it goes back twenty years or so.
mh2f+@andrew.cmu.edu (Mark Hahn) (11/07/90)
For what it is worth, the previous description didn't mention the Aramco telephone system, to which many if not most American expatriates are connected. (Aramco is the oil co.) To call my old home phone, dial 011-966-387-42688. 011-966 is, of course, the international access for Saudi. 3 is, I think the escape for Aramco. 87 is, I think, the city code for Dhahran. BEWARE: all this is based on recollections from a few years ago. it's also (mildly) interesting to note that the Aramco system began with very few digits, and gradually added more. my first number (in 1970) was 2912, then 22912, and so on. Regards, Mark
jwb@monu6.cc.monash.edu.au (Jim Breen) (11/07/90)
In article <14369@accuvax.nwu.edu>, HWT@bnr.ca (Henry Troup) writes: > Mike Doughney writes: > It almost looks like American workers had a hand in its production; > Bell Canada built and used to operate the Saudi phone system, on > contract for the government. I think that the latest operations > contract went to someone else. It sure did; Telecom Australia International. There was a lot of news about it here as all the dependants of the Australian staff were evacuated in fear of an Iraki invasion. > So the central office switches will be a mix of 1-ESS and DMS-100/200, > as my memory of the Saudi connection is that it goes back twenty years > or so. From memory there are a lot of Ericcson AXE switches. Jim Breen ($B?@Ip(J) (jwb@monu6.cc.monash.edu.au) Dept of Robotics & Digital Technology. Monash University PO Box 197 Caulfield East VIC 3145 Australia (ph) +61 3 573 2552 (fax) +61 3 573 2745
thurston@fastnet.mrc-apu.cam.ac.uk (Peter Thurston) (11/07/90)
(Various bits on who runs the Saudi phone system) I seem to remember when interviewed for a job at (the then) Philips TMC (In Malmsbury, UK) their pride and joy was the Saudi contact. We waw videos showing how many times round the moon their cable installations could reach. The switches were Philips PRX. I got thge impression that the contact involved the whole country, but then again ... it WAS a promotional video. On a different tack, somewhere I remember being told that internal calls in Saudi Arabia are all free? Peter Thurston MRC-APU Cambridge PRESTEL MAILBOX 095452219 [Moderator's Note: Speaking of Saudi Arabia and admittedly taking some privileges as Moderator, it now appears war is imminent, based on President Bush's remarks Thursday. Bad, bad news ... Whatever; I hope it does not go on for years like Viet Nam which I remember all too painfully, all too well. I guess Bush will do what he must do, but let's -- as the Post Office stamp cancellation used to say -- pray for peace. I feel pretty disheartened by it all. PAT]
vances@xenitec.on.ca (Vance Shipley) (11/07/90)
In article <14369@accuvax.nwu.edu> HWT@bnr.ca (Henry Troup) writes: >So the central office switches will be a mix of 1-ESS and DMS-100/200, >as my memory of the Saudi connection is that it goes back twenty years >or so. From what I am told by some people who were involoved in that project you can add SL-1 PBX's to the list of "CO" equipment used! Vance Shipley vances@ltg
hw@tts.lth.se (Hakan Winkvist) (11/12/90)
In article <14369@accuvax.nwu.edu> HWT@bnr.ca (Henry Troup) writes: X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 792, Message 7 of 10 >Mike Doughney writes: >> It almost looks like American workers had a hand in its production; >Bell Canada built and used to operate the Saudi phone system, on >contract for the government. I think that the latest operations >contract went to someone else. >So the central office switches will be a mix of 1-ESS and DMS-100/200, >as my memory of the Saudi connection is that it goes back twenty years >or so. In Saudi Arabia existed a few years back following number of switches in the public telephone network: 4 Ericsson ARE 13 transit switches around 60 Ericsson AXE 10 as both local and transit switches. Some of the transit switches are used to switch cellular mobile traffic according to the NMT-450 system. around 10 Ericsson ARE 11 local switches. Philips PRX local switches, mostly rural. Philips/AT&T PRX-D/ESS5 Local switches 10 Hitachi local containerized switches. (Old crossbar switches) 2 AT&T ESS1A Used at the international airports in Jeddah and Riyadh. Hakan Winkvist
carroll@beaver.cs.washington.edu (Jeff Carroll) (11/17/90)
In article <14369@accuvax.nwu.edu> HWT@bnr.ca (Henry Troup) writes: >Mike Doughney writes: >> It almost looks like American workers had a hand in its production; >Bell Canada built and used to operate the Saudi phone system, on >contract for the government. I think that the latest operations >contract went to someone else. As someone else pointed out, there is also the Aramco system, and I happen to know that AT&T also built and maintained a telecom system in KSA. My employer is currently under contract to deliver and deploy yet another (independent, unconnected) telecom network to Saudi Arabia, as part of their air defense system. This one will use the European TDM hierarchy rather than the North American; the switches, last I knew, were going to be ITT/Alcatel System 10s. Jeff Carroll carroll@atc.boeing.com