Now that Zain’s Beam internet service has been out for a few months I’m wondering if any of my readers have tried it. I’ve been using B Wirless (Wimd) for the past 6 years but recently I’ve been having a lot of issues and barely getting 10Mbps. It’s not B Wireless’s fault, it’s just there is now a new building blocking the line of sight needed between my building and the B Wirless tower, so my connection is no longer stable.
I’ve considered getting an LTE connection from one of the telecoms but with the testing I’ve done, the speed can vary from as low as 2Mbps up to around 12Mbps. My only other alternative is Beam, but I haven’t heard of anyone using it. So if you have Beam installed, let us know what you think of it.
52 replies on “Do you have Zain Beam?”
I don’t use beam but I have an LTE-A router from Zain which gives me a minimum of 20mbps at all times. If I’m lucky, I get 30+ (even in crowded areas).
https://www.speedtest.net/result/d/87703025
https://www.speedtest.net/result/d/87703329
Doesn’t Beam also need a line of sight?
I’ve been using LTE for the last 5 years, I’ve got Zain which I need to restart on a daily basis, but averages around 5-9 Mbps, and also Ooredoo with an Orbi wifi mesh network which gives a minimum of 10 Mbps and up to 20 Mbps. At the end it all depends on your strongest signal in your apartment.
No it doesn’t need line of sight. It’s omnidirectional so basically just like LTE but on different frequency.
But if I have tall buildings around I’m still pretty much fucked?
A friend of mine got one installed at his place, in Salwa, and he`s ultra supper happy with the connection. He`s using simultaneously 2 PS for online gaming (shooters) and Netflix streaming without any issues, with ping around 80 when tested against EU/USA servers. Haven’t had the chance of testing it myself though.
I would like to hear also more opinions, as right now the service is new with few users, so plenty of bandwidth.
You’ve already reviewed it and expressed your fears for it, which turned out to be true as per your article https://248am.com/mark/internet/mada-to-focus-only-on-corporate-sector/
It’s just Mada plain and simple plus the exorbitant prices.
I recently just switched from Wimd to Beam and i’m loving it…Speeds with beam are consistently 30 Mbps and that’s with the 20Mbps package. They offer 20 and 40 mb and they limit the number of people that can subscribe to the service based on your address, so when i tried to subscribe to the 40mb i could’t because they reached the limit on that area.
Keep in mind it’s not available in all areas and in order to go through all the paperwork with them to get the subscription done it took over an hour of just watching them holding up a phone that had a tutorial on Beam and how to process the order, but it’s well worth it. It’s also cheaper than Wimd with the 25mbps package.
You must subscribe to 24 months commitment,
No, thank you.
I have been using VIVA lte with the Cat11 router, and I have been getting an average 25mbps and during nights and mornings it can shoot up to 80 Mbps.this is not limited to just my place, a friend of mine in hawalli gets better speeds there.
The speeds are only increasing over the years.It also depends on the location and proximity to the antenna. In my neighbour’s house the speed reach 120Mbps regularly
+1
I am constantly getting speeds over 40Mbps in Salmiya. The trick is to get the CAT11 router from them. And I am only paying 10KD per month.
Those routers are a bit expensive right? I’ve seen one from Huawei in Jareer I think for like 150 KD or something
I am just paying 2KD/Mo to VIVA to get the CAT11 router. And the extra speed I get makes it worth the extra 2KD. I just to their website to see if that offer is still valid, and now you get CAT16 router for 2KD/month which is even better.
I’d rather buy the device myself, I’m not committing my soul to any corporate overlords.
I’m surprised that you didn’t post about
the Project Ucon: Terminal 2 event taking place at Al Shaheed Park
I’ve been using Beam since October and I’m loving it. I speedtest everyday out of curiosity and a little skepticism but Zain have really delivered this time. The lowest speedtest I registered is 42Mbps and I get 50Mbps for the majority of the time. Go for it.
Did you sign up for the 24 months commitment?
https://www.kw.zain.com/en/beam?PageSpeed=noscript
Yes, you have to. I was reluctant to commit to 2 years but now I’m very happy with the results. Hopefully I don’t get a drop in speed in the future.
I live around Riggae.. ..any idea what is a good alternative to Beam for those of us not living in their current coverage area. I am unable to watch Netflix without some buffering at peak times..
I am from old riggai and i have been using viva lte with the cat 11 router. speedtest shows speeds between 20-60mbps. I play online games while streaming and my wife watches netflix at the same time. Never had buffering issues on netflix. Ping on games like pubg and rainbowsix siege are at 110-130 on eu servers.
thanks
Using Zain LTE. It has been great so far. Speed, streaming, downloading and online gaming. No complains. I had problems before with Viva speeds.
Iv been using beam for 2 months. Im getting up to 30 mb although I registered for the 20 mb.
https://www.speedtest.net/my-result/i/3080715565
https://www.speedtest.net/my-result/i/3078539077
https://www.speedtest.net/my-result/i/3075384170
https://www.speedtest.net/my-result/i/3061582793
https://www.speedtest.net/my-result/i/3056821931
Has anyone tried it on higher floors (+10). My Zain LTE router used to provide good speed earlier when I was residing on 7th floor but its speed has deteriorated significantly since I moved on 14th to an extent I can’t even stream youtube videos. 🙁
On enquiring with all Zain, Viva & Ooredoo I was informed that the network connectivity at higher floors isn’t good and hence, the poor speed.
https://www.speedtest.net/result/8019022857
Using Ooreedo router
4KD/month
Can’t be happier. I guess BEAM is not worth it for me 🙂
@aceboy44 what’s the data cap?
For 4KD I would say 200GB per month?
100 GB
https://www.speedtest.net/result/8023205307.png
nice, that’s a good price, you can pay 2kd more and get 500GB though.
Internet speed in Kuwait, from my experience anyway, is very much dependent upon location.
Where one provider may be great for a certain location, it may perform poorly (or even terribly!!) in another.
My humble suggestion is that, before committing to any of the major LTE internet providers, carry out speed tests on different days and at different times on each of these first, as you could be surprised at the variations on download speeds between each of these providers.
+1
Just wanted to show off 🙂
https://www.speedtest.net/result/8018818997
Got a call a few weeks ago from my internet provider here in Dubai with an offer to double my speed which was at 50mbps, it not only doubled but quadrupled and some. No complaints from my end.
Unlimited? and what is the monthly charge?
Monthly charge is 659 AED ( 55 KD ) that includes a land line phone, premium SAT and Internet. 2 year contract 🙂
what a rip off
I live in Dubai , most everything is a rip off here and way overpriced.
So you are paying almost 700 KD (Inc VAT) a year for 250 Mbps internet. (Ignoring landline, which is free here, SAT is replaced with Netflix and other streaming services)
That’s pretty great offer. Good to see ISPs over there utilizing their fiber network towards it’s true potential (1 Gbps).
Our land ISPs have competitive prices, but very reluctant to offer anything beyond 50-100 Mbps.
The best match over here is 537 KD for 100 Mbps from bonline.
https://www.bonline.com.kw/home/shop/internet
maaaan they are ripping u off so bad 55kd monthly for 50mps,
in south surra fiber optics 400kd for 12 months so monthly 33kd….
And how much are they charging for 200 mbps ? Thats what i’m getting minimum at peak hours and sometimes it’s at 260 mbps.
@Q80inDXB 200+ mbps upload and download for 55kd a month is an acceptable deal but 50mbps for that price is a rip off like everyone said.
As soon as I found out you use the same support number as their normal telecom services IE 107 it was an instant pass for me.
I actually called and asked whether the speed would be the same for both upload and download the agent had no idea what I was talking about and recommended that I go to the nearest branch for an answer. Just what you need from ISP tech support, every time something goes wrong they recommend you visit a nearby branch LOL
+1
Did you try Ooredoo or VIVA?
I am getting 50+ mb/s using a 10kd post paid sub from Ooredoo with the neatgear router, also almost the same speed from VIVA. I think BEAM should be a last resort option as it is expensive.
May I know the location please?
I tried all three and none of them were stable or fast in my place. For example Zain Bolt at the office hits around 70-80Mbps but once I bring it home it’s down to like 4 to 12 max. Same with Viva and Oreedoo. Around 100m from my place my Viva gives me around 20mbps, but once you get to my building it drops. Must be interference or something, I’ve got telecom towers right in front of me. I can’t even fly my drone outside due to interference. Why do I feel like I’m gonna get cancer any day now 🤔
its has to be expensive. the more users for beam the slower it gets.
Remember when mada just started it was dammm fast, but the subscription was so cheap everyone was getting it then the internet became slow.
I am using Galaxy S9+ (cat18) with Zain line the speed now is 46 Mbps.
2 years contract?? just wait for 5G.
I highly recommend getting an LTE+ from ooredoo. I pay 6 KD per month, for a 12 month commitment. First you need to ensure that you can place the router in a place that gets you full signal. if all is well, you can get download speeds of 5.7 MBs. That is what I have been getting.
guys wanna ask about zain beam is it like WIMD B.Wireless?
i cant use hotspot for my place there is no signal in home’s basement
currently using b.wireless 20Mbs… so the question is, does beam use
antenna fitted on house’s roof top and ethernet goes down to a router like B.Wireless?
I ordered Beam and today I had techinicians to install the router. They tried to catch a signal on my balcony and even on the roof of my building. No success, signal is low. However I live in Salmiya block 11.
Ah that sucks, they were gonna come over this morning but they didn’t, once they do I’ll let you know how the signal is in block 9 of Salmiya
Some more information about Beams;
Its a 24 month commitment & attracts a penalty of KD 180 if you cancel it prior to that. Surprisingly, they do not have a provision to transfer the setup to another place in case you change your house. Basically, you will have to pay KD 180 for cancellation if you change your apartment and then get a new connection with another 24 month commitment.
Can someone please share a picture of their antenna… I need to check with my building whether they will allow to install it.