Today I met with a person from Wataniya. They wanted me to try out their new W-Net router based system so they hooked me up with a device and a 6 month subscription plan.
It runs on the HDSPA network and right out of the box on a busy Thursday night I am downloading at 51.6kb. I will post more pictures and details after I play with it some more this weekend. So far this Internet connection seems as fast as my Qualitynet 512 DSL connection.
31 replies on “Wataniya W-Net”
That’s really cool ? how much does it cost and what are the rates ?
i have the price list in the box, will check in a bit and post it. i know though that its unlimited bandwidth which is cool.
is it 51.6 kb(its) or kB(ytes)? it is an 8 fold difference.
definitely kilobytes, as he said it’s as fast as his 512 system.
cool
Costs KD 120 initial hardware plus KD20 per monthly subscription. Works well except in some areas I’ve been between 4th and 5th ring. Wierd.
i think the price is around 140 KD (for the unit) and 24 KD/month
isnt that cheaper than Qnet DSL , and you can take it any where in kuwait ?! no need for phone line .. u can use it in the camp .. right ?
if so .. then its difenetly worth it
it costs 135 for the router plus a sim card and 28kd per month and 300kd per year (25kd/mon)
Mark how about the ping, sure the DSL have this advantage and plz post more detail.
Hows the latency?
Can it be shared easily across multiple machines?
You may not be able to use it in the camp, Financy. My W-net doesn’t work at Wafra in my office (well, it switches to WAP network like -0.5Kbps.
Meanwhile Mark, you’re lucky getting 51.6Kbps. I connect to their 3G network with theoretical 320Kbps highest speed, and download speed is NEVER more than 10Kbps. QNet dial-up for 5KD per month is a similar speed.
Should be faster with HDSPA. Whats the fastest wire connection you get in q8?
25kd pm and download thruput of 51k… hows it better thn qnet! except of taking anywhere with u part…
It’s 20KD per month, not 25. And 120KD for the box. That’s what the Wataniya guys in MM told me last week.
lets get the feedback from Mark since he’s got it, before we judge ourselves
and please don’t forget to post the price list… thanks
I’m not judging. I’m stating paid-for facts.
I am writting this mail using my New Wnet router.It is great & really fast,that is cause I am south of Kuwait in the chaletes area.The company has wisely started to put the service away from town as this is where the net service is missing.Also two nights ago it worked well in the north ( Abdali ).The disadvantage is that u need electrical outlet,so it is not as “portable” as I thought,but the advantage is that u can connect to many computers.Go for it !
As advertised monthly sub is KD 23
hmm.. Its pretty cool if their are remote areas where you can’t get internet at home, I would use that but since I can get internet at home I wouldn’t use it!
Marzouq,
It is not for remote areas only ! but the service is atarting from south & north and gradualloy towards town.Then you can use it as a normal internet provider once your present home subsdription is expierd.
The router with the data line costs KD135.
Monthly rate varies.
If month by month its KD28
If 1 year contract its KD300 (KD25 a month)
If 2 year contract its KD565 (KD23.5 a month)
oh and today was downloading a 13MB file from gmail at 114kb. It went up a bit and down a bit but stuck around the 114kb mark for most of the time. Thats faster then my DSL connection.
But I think the latency is definitely slower. Will run Quake3 later and compare ping times.
can someone explain why i have a 512 dsl connection yet download usually around 47-50 kb? what is latency?
i had it a week ago and it sounds ok, i use it only when i’m outside the house and when there are others who want to go online with me too, it could take to 3 users, but it’s not as fast as it is when it’s one or two of course ;p
:: Mark, i need more info about this please im thinking to get one
Frankom I iwll be posting review tonight
:: Great … Thanks a lot. 🙂
My friend own’s this and i noticed the upload speed is inconvenient. Sometimes as slow as dialup. Qnet 512 kbps is always stable. Where are for this device it will vary. The only advantage is its mobility but then again battery reduction ( Not something to worry about ).. overall great product !!
I was thinking to get one, but tell me comparing with home 512MB DSL is it the same? I mean am I going to have the same quality, with many computers connecting to the DSL at home, and what about the distance will cover the same as home 512 DSL?
Dear folks,
I have been using Wnet for a year and more now. The most pathetic service I cud call. Currently residing in Riggai area, and Wnet is one of the worst services I ever found. It is quite slower than a dialup and often dead without signal. Tried several times fixing it up at Sharq office, but all efforts in vain when I am back home. So another solid case of all promises and poor delivery. I finally decided to use Quality net DSL now. Really happy with the speed and reliability.
So new users beware with all the RED captions of top speed and customer service from Wnet. Its just pathetic.