This was probably one of the funniest conversations I have had with Zain’s tech support, I just couldn’t believe what the guy was telling me. I had a problem with my phone, for the last few days its like my Blackberry was having blackouts a few hours at a time, then I went two days without BB connectivity, only connecting over wifi. After trying everything to troubleshoot the issue on my own I thought to call tech support and see what could be happening, because other people with BB were operating normally, and I recently paid the ridiculous amount so I didn’t have an overdue bill.

Conversation:

Tech – “Hello thank you for calling Zain”

Me – “Hello I have an issue with my Blackberry, it isn’t connecting to any Blackberry services”

Tech – “Did you try switching off your phone and turning it back on?”

Me – “I turned it off and turned it on, I took out the battery waited 10 mins and turned it on, I even took out the SIM card for 10 mins and turned it back on, is there something wrong with my line?”

Tech – “I don’t know, did you try putting another SIM in your phone to check if its not the phone?”

Me – “What do you mean you don’t know? And what other SIM?”

Tech – “Doesn’t a friend in your Dewaneya have a Blackberry? Try his SIM in your phone to make sure the problem is with the phone not the line”

Me – “Ok… Still What do you mean you don’t know if there is anything wrong with the SIM?!?”

Tech – “I can’t tell right now if there is anything wrong with your line”

Me – “Why can’t you?”

Tech – “Oh our system is down or being upgraded for the last 36 hours so I won’t be able to tell”

Me – “OK… So if I put another SIM and the phone works, then that means there is a problem with my line and now my phone, would you be able to do anything about it?”

Tech – “No we won’t be able to do anything to fix your line until our system is back up”

Me – “And when exactly will your system be back up?”

Tech – “Give us a call back in 24 hours”

Me – “Great.. Thank you Good bye”

Tech – “Goodbye and Thank you for calling Zain”

Thats 15 mins of my life that I will not able to get back.

As part of our corporate social responsibility and in a means to give back to the community and support a good cause, the management and staff at Solo Pizza Napulitana will support Bayt Abdullah’s Childrens’ Hospice in the holy month of Ramadan … Join us and help support this great cause!

For every Pizza item and Nutella Dario Sweet that you’ll enjoy with us, half a Kuwaiti Dinar will be donated towards the cause.

Solo Pizza is supporting Bayt Abdullah by donating a part of their revenue during the month of Ramadan which I think is fantastic of them. They are open between 10pm and 1am every night in Ramadan except Friday. I did enjoy their pizza I just hope they have a few more choices later in the future, I do love the mushroom pizza but it would be great to have a quotro formaggio in the near future, if you haven’t been to them yet then you should go soon.

And we are back to the best month of the year, Ramadan is one of my favorite times in the year, it also the most exhausting. I love that I get to see so many family and see them daily, its a family gathering almost every day, something to look forward to throughout the day. Lots of social events taking place after futoor for the first two weeks, its going to be a marathon going from dewaneya to dewaneya but thats part of Ramadan. A lot of people watch the shows taking place but I prefer making the most I can out of the day, and the best part is I get to finish so much during the day, lets just hope it cools off.

For all things to do with Eb6ainiya is the place to check out, they take the time to really check out every new food place be it in Kuwait or any other location. And they also like to cook too, and this time they are having a recipe competition for Ramadan, check out the details at the link below to submit your recipe.

eB6ainiya blog is proudly presents: Ramadan’s recipe contest. Do you have a special recipe that is a hit between your friends and family and suitable for Ramadan? We are looking for all types of recipes, from main course to desserts. All you need is a WINNING recipe worth competing in our contest.

Link: eb6ainiya

There is a dirty battle going on between the Ministry of Communication and the Internet Service Providers in Kuwait. People have always been supportive of the ISPs and we never really said anything about their charges even though we knew they were ludicrous.

User MoC Issues

The Ministry Of Communication is the main source of the issue with a lot of issues that we face in Kuwait. The limited capability of our lines for DSL services is because they haven’t upgraded since the 1970s and fiber optic cables is no where in sight. So no matter what ISP you go with there is always have a limit some people have it at 2 MB and some at 10 MB it depends on the quality of your copper line and how far you are from the MoC Hub in your area. So what ever maximum speed you can reach isn’t really the fault of the providers and applaude them for working with what they have and bring technology that can give us better speed for the quality of lines that we have.

ISP MoC Issues

The only connectivity to Kuwait is via the Ministry of Communication, you don’t have any other option to connect to the outside worlds and this what the ISPs have to work with. And because the MoC hasn’t gone on the initiative to bring more major fiber cables to Kuwait we don’t have the increase to satisfy the requirements. Basically these guys have been too lazy to attend the meetings and they could have easily turned Kuwait into an internet hub, it wouldn’t have taken too much effort. Instead we were stuck with this capacity for over two years now with no progress really in sight to increase it because they didn’t plan ahead. With all this the MoC is charging the ISPs taxes and exuberant prices that they do not like and thus they are passing it along to us. The cost of the internet in many countries across the world which you can see from 360 Dewan’s post

Price Unification

Now this is the first step the ISPs took this year that shocked a lot of people, we always wait for InfoConnect to get the best pricing but this time around all the prices across the board were increased by 100%. The big four players sat down and agreed on prices across the table with minor differences between them, which is basically price fixing and it is illegal in many countries but it has passed in Kuwait.

Data Caps

Because of the issues faced by the ISPs with the MoC they decided to take another tactic to try get users worked up. The ISPs don’t want to fight or get into any argument with the MoC as they can make their lives a living hell, instead they make our lives a living hell so we can in turn do that to the MoC and complain enough so that action is taken on their end. The ISPs want the MoC to lower their prices and the only way they can do that is to get the Users riled up to storm into the MoC and then and only then they would make changes that the ISP want.

When they stated that the Data Caps were from the Ministry of Communication it was a complete lie to get people off their backs. Data Caps do help the ISPs they make more money and you get a lot more less usage which is basically robbery plain and simple. The ISPs also state they are doing this because of the “Abusers” which is ridiculous because very few people use their internet connection 24/7, I for one download a lot but I added it up to about 8 days out of the month where I do major downloading and the rest of the time its just updates, programs, gaming, surfing, and streaming which in reality you hit the Data Cap in mere hours not even the amount you really require or are paying for.

What they are also trying to do with these Data Caps is target Building and Business Owners who use a residential line to get internet service and pay for lower pricing but really abuse the hell out of the connection. They want to target these people and limit their usage and have them move to business plans and pay a higher price because of their heavy usage. Your talking about buildings with 20 users on one 4MB connection or a company with 25 users with a 2 MB connection, and to them the connection is being used too much too consistently. And this problem isn’t for us normal people to pay for, we pay our fees and expect a service, not to be restricted from it.

They talk about Data Caps in Europe and in other countries, that does happen but in those countries the users pay about 5 to 10% of the amounts we pay, I used to pay $1200 per year for 20 MB connection in 2004 which was excessive but that is 350 KD but in Kuwait you pay 350 KD for 3 to 4 MB connection depending on the company, and for a 20 MB connection you would have to pay around 1500 KWD per year. And we haven’t complained about the pricing as long as we are getting the service.

What is ILLEGAL at this Point?

Price Fixing – Sitting between the competition and deciding to increase prices across the board for the same product is illegal on every level.

Data Caps – Changing the terms and conditions of the service without notification, and everyone literally just renewed their service in the last 5 months.

What We Need?

We need a TRA or Telecommunication Regulatory Agency, a independent agency that will govern the ISPs and Telecom companies. Oman, Bahrain, Emirates and even Saudi Arabia has one and you don’t want to cross these agencies as they have the power to fine the companies and suspend their services based on their actions. Such the as the case with Batelco and the Bahrain TRA and STC and the Saudi TRA when they took actions that were deemed illegal they were fined heavily and it hurt. Ind our case Kuwait’s ISPs aren’t afraid because they would never get fined or no real damage would happen, and the letter from MoC doesn’t really scare them, they have had lots of those.

We need clear fines to be defined for their actions over the last few months and it should be made clear that they can’t make changes to the user’s contract except until the contract ends which in our case is 1 year from now and Data Caps should be made illegal because this isn’t the service we are paying for, we are paying for speed and no the limitation of usage. Now it seems the ISPs are selling Data Amounts and not really speeds and soon they will come up with an insane package and even worse pricing to get us to pay for the Data amounts we want.

One of the most satisfying dishes that anyone can have after a long day. Mawash tastes very good and I love Mawash with Shrimp, it really tastes so good and so warm. This dish isn’t easy to get right but once the recipe is perfect it tastes so good and especially the small shrimp.

I love these jumbo fried shrimp, I can eat them like popcorn, and especially with that sauce. The thousand island sauce or simply Ketchup and Mayo, and I add a bit of hot sauce to make it a bit spicy. I had a very nice nap after this meal.

414 Meters Tall, The Tallest Concrete Structure in the World, uniquely designed to the highest specifications. With all the considerations and advancements they have made with this tower it is one of the highest quality building in the region, if not Asia.

I got invited to take a tour of the Al Hamra Project and was joined by Ansam518, and turned into a private tour of an amazing structure. What got a tour of the model to see how it is put together, what they did to bring this tower to life. I for one am very much looking forward to seeing this property open.

There are three parts to the Al Hamra Project, the Luxury Mall, the Parking Structure, and the Tower Itself. The ingenuity and design of this building is something that hasn’t been seen in this region before and I am thankful they went through this. The work that they did for this tower made the Municipality change and update their codes for these super structures, they took it upon themselves to make them understand that a superstructure and Prime Class A tower such as Al Hamra had its own set of codes to creature a structure such as this. They went against every wall, every political barrier that was laid in front of them, and every obstacle ahead of them and still came up with a structure such as this. I really am proud that a building such as this has come up in Kuwait.

The shopping mall will be a very nice combination of shops, close to downtown, Grand Cinemas will be opening up with every theater being a VIP theater, and I’m looking forward to good food in the cinemas at last. The parking structure can hold 2000 cars but knowing Kuwait that won’t be nearly as much as needed but lets hope that there will be times when its empty. There is a rentable space 1700 square meters per floor with an amazing unobstructed 360 degree view of Kuwait, on clear day you can see very far. With the ways they have designed the elevators you won’t wait longer then 30 seconds for an elevator. With the rear of each floor having a unique corridor which overlooks a limestone clad wall curved for a specific design. The curving stone slab covered rear of the building it is designed in a way to take the most heat during the day and keeping it cool and to disperse the heat from the sun. When I was in the office areas the windows were still dusty and needed to be cleaned and I wondered how that would happen, to my surprise there are two robots that cover the whole length of the tower and take 30 days to go from top to bottom of the tower which is impressive.

There is a 3700 square meter spa and gym for women that will open up and have rooftop access to the the Luxury Mall. At the top floor of the Al Hamra Tower will be the triple height restaurant concept and ballroom with the two floors below it turned into a type of chairman’s club. This is what happens when a creative group of dedicated people have the chance to work on an amazing work of architecture such as this. I want to thank the marketing team at Al Hamra for inviting me to this amazing project and for the effort they have put into it.

Halfway through 2011 already, time really flies by and this summer just keeps getting hotter. Lots of things to do outdoors as well as indoors, and during that time I’m always browsing the blogs. Recently there have been some very cool blogs popping up as well as the ones who just cover so much in Kuwait. This is the list that I keep checking every few days, always something exciting to read and enjoy. I’m sure there are ALOT of blogs out there that I have missed but right now these are the ones I’m checking.

p0ach – On top of everything like usual
7adjiDude – Two guys One Girl! A variety of interests and fun to check out!
360Dewan – Love what these guys do!
His&Hers – Husband and Wife Duo! Posting Fun things!
Qurtoba – Always on top of things! And love the interviews!
Kuwaitiful – Gadgets! Coverage! Openings and More!
Kal01 – The Japanese Addict – Otaku – Anime, Models, and Any Aspect of Japan!
Tid Bit Dujour – Design and Tips of all Kinds! Enjoy what they do!
Jacqui – The Apple Gadget Freak!
Frankom – Old is Gold! Always something interesting to read
Ansam518 – Interviews, Food and more!
Mark – On top of things

“Jimmar Baka >> Kems – is pretty disappointed with freakin FAP… hope something happens to all the ISPs in Kuwait”

I have been out all day for the last 24 hours between work, meetings, and family social events only to come back home to find that KEMS mentioning my posts and linking me to “Abusers”, these “Abusers” who are early adopters of internet, these “Abusers” who paid the ridiculous prices from early 2000 until now, from corporate to residential. They have even gone as far as blaming me for the slow speeds and high latency across their network

I am one of the earliest users of KEMS when they first started accepting home users, in addition to giving them numerous glowing reviews and recommendations (https://www.zdistrict.com/?s=kems). I honestly find it INFURIATING that ISPs take their clients so lightly and changing the service they promised their clients. I have paid for and renewed my service for an 8MB connection, not some time, not half the time, all the time. And they have chosen to single me out as an internet abuser; and going as far as claiming they are going to terminate me and ban me from renewing.

What the person that posted this comment on behalf of #KEMS fails to realize that in the past I have always recommended my corporate accounts to utilize #KEMS due to their strong support, even when priced higher than local competition. I don’t understand how KEMS can make accusations about its customers without considering the implications it has to their core business. To the person who posted the comment on behalf of KEMS, please go ahead and terminate my connections in addition to my corporate accounts.

First they claim to have implemented the FAP policy to reduce prices, increase speeds and lower latency. Now after castrating our internet connections to 10% of its actual capability; they now plan on implementing a ‘super user’ account without limits for residential user and creating a ‘bandwidth bank’ for people to purchase additional bandwidth.

Keep in mind that KEMS just won a tender from the Ministry of Oil to provide Data Connectivity to their employees at a very reduced rate. Meaning someone in a Managerial or Team Leader level can get 8 MB connectivity for 150 KD for the year at home. It is part of the package that KEMS gave to the Oil Companies such as KOC or KNPC or KPC, that as well as connecting all the major buildings between each other and abroad, that they also provide connectivity to the Oil Company Employees at a VERY reduced level WITHOUT CAPS. So KEMS is selling their service in bulk to a ministry for a lot cheaper than they are selling to individuals, as well as providing individuals with connectivity which is also without CAPS as per their tender agreement. It seems they honor their agreements with governments but they couldn’t care less about their contracts with their customers.

While neighboring GCC countries are striving to deliver 100mbit service to their customers. Our providers are trying to squeeze out every fils out of our pockets. It’s really a shame that our local companies have created an oligopoly to rip-off their customers while the MOC is doing nothing to prevent the cartels from increasing prices and setting caps.

I tried complaining to Kems Technical and Sales regarding the Data Caps and they didn’t mention this when I renewed my account for a year about a month ago. I paid 575 KD for an 8 MB connection, I told them that I was not informed of these Caps when I first renewed my service, it should not be applied at all. They said they might remove daily caps next month and just keep them as monthly caps. With 8 MB I have a 8GB Cap per day and per month it would be 240 GB, then they told me that the monthly Cap would be 200 GB not 240 GB, it doesn’t add up. I was on the phone for over 20 minutes talking from one useless person to the next which really got annoying. I decided to test the Caps as soon as I got home.

I started downloading about 80 GB worth of shows and thought let me test what would happen and when it would get back to normal. After 27 GBs and the Cap still wasn’t applied, it didn’t drop down to 25% of the speed, it was still downloading between 750 Kbps to 920 Kbps, so I will see what happens further.