JEDDAH: Residents who have moved to new neighborhoods in Jeddah are surprised to discover that basic utilities are still not available.

The neighborhoods where it is difficult to get connections for power, water and phone lines include Marwah and Haramain 1 and 2.

Nashi Al-Ju’aid, who recently moved into Marwah, wanted to transfer his old phone line to his new residence, but was told by the concierge that the neighborhood lacks fixed phone lines. “Everybody here uses mobile phones. This is the only means of communication here,” the concierge said.

Nashi called the STC. “I told them that my building has no phone box with the letters DP. I was told that I must find a nearby building that contains these letters in order to get one. I asked neighbors if such a building exists in neighboring areas but was told that I’ll have to use my cell phone.” he said. “I kept calling STC to emphasize the urgency for having a phone line. I need it for my family because it’s cheap and because they have many good promotional offers. The representative told me that the only solution is to get a line called “atheer shamil.” This, he told me, does not need a DP connection. The monthly cost is SR300 with Internet and SR45 without,” he said.

“I have no choice. My kids need the Internet for their school homework. We can’t really do without the fixed line. Homework is now allocated on the Net. I had to accept the only offer available to me. And since the bill is issued every two months, this means I have to pay SR600 every two months just for my phone bill. I cannot really afford that but I don’t know what else to do.”

Hassan Al-Shaikh from the STC said many new neighborhoods in Jeddah and in other Saudi cities are without fixed-line services because there are not enough lines. The “atheer shamil” option is a temporary measure until new fixed lines become available.