So for the past two and a half weeks I have been badgering a bloke called Eslam who is the man who can install satellite internet for us. I last spoke to him over a week ago, because last weekend he'd obviously had enough of me calling him and so stopped answering my calls! He did text me after two hours to say that he was sorry and they would install on Saturday. So then Saturday comes and he hasn't called me for our address, so I text him to ask when he will come to install. He doesn't reply and so two hours later I try to call him, but of course he does not answer. Does this guy not want our money, or something? I try calling him again but it's the same. Scotty tries to call him from his phone and he does get through, but Eslam is quite vague, saying that the engineer from the office will come today. No mention of the time, or that he would like our address even!
We're getting pretty frustrated - as you can imagine! So we sit down and start to think about other options. The USB dongle we've got for this month from Etisalat has been doing well and so we could just buy a router for this and run all of our internet this way. Although the router isn't expensive, we'd probably need more than one dongle's worth of data each month, and so the unlimited data we'd get through the satellite could be a better deal. Hhmmm. We're close to going out to Etisalat to buy the router (as we've stayed in all day so far in case the engineer turns up) but then hit on another plan.
We know that the phone line in to the apartment is fibre, but we also know that there is a second, different, phone line. We couldn't get it to call out, so didn't know the phone number to try and get the internet connected on the line. We had assumed that as the main phone line was fibre, the other line would be fibre too (as the sockets are next to each other).
Then we had a brainwave - why don't we try to call Etisalat on the other line, as they have Caller ID and so could tell us what the number is. We do that but we're not overly hopeful that the line will be good. We get through to Etisalat and they tell us straight away that the line is good, but it is already signed up for Internet with TE Data. We are slightly in shock and disbelief at this news - within about 15 minutes we have gone from not having our calls answered by our only hope, to having a line that could potentially support ADSL.
We then speak to TE Data and they confirm that the line is good and say that all we need to do is to come to the office to sign a new contract with them. We get in a cab to Nasr Street and are soon showing them our passports and the lease while they open the line up again for business.
Back at the apartment and we plug in the new router to the line, plug it in to the computer and it seems to be flashing all the right colours. Scotty then calls TE Data to do some of the codes etc. and then we're online - wow!
Three weeks of internet faff: resolved in less than two hours!
Now we know that a lot of friends have had problems with TE Data in the past, and we really think that Etisalat have been good at their customer service over the years. But we decided that we would be better off sticking with TE Data, rather than creating (more) faff by trying to get them to release the line and then trying to get Etisalat to take it up again.
What happens within minutes of us getting the internet all set up? Scotty receives a phone call from 'Ali, the internet engineer' - oh, so they've finally decided to get in touch, have they? Scotty plays dumb and does the 'crackly line' noise whilst I turn off my phone so they can't call me. A bit evasive of us maybe, but we figure we can give them a bit of a taste of their own medicine. Tomorrow if either of them call then I will simply explain that they had two and a half weeks to install and plenty of time to communicate with us about what was happening and when, but because they were not very helpful we have found someone else for internet.
We do still manage a final bit of faff when it comes to cabling the new router/computer set up. The problem is that the phone sockets are beside the TV which is the opposite side of the room to the computer (but at least they are in the same room, unlike the satellite cable was initially!) Our first cable set up is to get a really long phone cable from beside the TV, so that the phone and the router can be close to the computer. This works, but the line is a bit crackly (especially when you move the cable, or walk on it as it runs under the rugs). We then decide to change things round and have a short phone cable, so that the router is near the TV, but a really long ethernet cable to the computer. Once we have run this around the room and plug it in, we notice that there is a phone socket behind the couch i.e. next to where the computer is. A quick check and indeed this is the right line for the internet - so we can have both a short phone and short ethernet cable and the set up is complete!
We're getting pretty frustrated - as you can imagine! So we sit down and start to think about other options. The USB dongle we've got for this month from Etisalat has been doing well and so we could just buy a router for this and run all of our internet this way. Although the router isn't expensive, we'd probably need more than one dongle's worth of data each month, and so the unlimited data we'd get through the satellite could be a better deal. Hhmmm. We're close to going out to Etisalat to buy the router (as we've stayed in all day so far in case the engineer turns up) but then hit on another plan.
We know that the phone line in to the apartment is fibre, but we also know that there is a second, different, phone line. We couldn't get it to call out, so didn't know the phone number to try and get the internet connected on the line. We had assumed that as the main phone line was fibre, the other line would be fibre too (as the sockets are next to each other).
Then we had a brainwave - why don't we try to call Etisalat on the other line, as they have Caller ID and so could tell us what the number is. We do that but we're not overly hopeful that the line will be good. We get through to Etisalat and they tell us straight away that the line is good, but it is already signed up for Internet with TE Data. We are slightly in shock and disbelief at this news - within about 15 minutes we have gone from not having our calls answered by our only hope, to having a line that could potentially support ADSL.
We then speak to TE Data and they confirm that the line is good and say that all we need to do is to come to the office to sign a new contract with them. We get in a cab to Nasr Street and are soon showing them our passports and the lease while they open the line up again for business.
Back at the apartment and we plug in the new router to the line, plug it in to the computer and it seems to be flashing all the right colours. Scotty then calls TE Data to do some of the codes etc. and then we're online - wow!
Three weeks of internet faff: resolved in less than two hours!
Now we know that a lot of friends have had problems with TE Data in the past, and we really think that Etisalat have been good at their customer service over the years. But we decided that we would be better off sticking with TE Data, rather than creating (more) faff by trying to get them to release the line and then trying to get Etisalat to take it up again.
What happens within minutes of us getting the internet all set up? Scotty receives a phone call from 'Ali, the internet engineer' - oh, so they've finally decided to get in touch, have they? Scotty plays dumb and does the 'crackly line' noise whilst I turn off my phone so they can't call me. A bit evasive of us maybe, but we figure we can give them a bit of a taste of their own medicine. Tomorrow if either of them call then I will simply explain that they had two and a half weeks to install and plenty of time to communicate with us about what was happening and when, but because they were not very helpful we have found someone else for internet.
We do still manage a final bit of faff when it comes to cabling the new router/computer set up. The problem is that the phone sockets are beside the TV which is the opposite side of the room to the computer (but at least they are in the same room, unlike the satellite cable was initially!) Our first cable set up is to get a really long phone cable from beside the TV, so that the phone and the router can be close to the computer. This works, but the line is a bit crackly (especially when you move the cable, or walk on it as it runs under the rugs). We then decide to change things round and have a short phone cable, so that the router is near the TV, but a really long ethernet cable to the computer. Once we have run this around the room and plug it in, we notice that there is a phone socket behind the couch i.e. next to where the computer is. A quick check and indeed this is the right line for the internet - so we can have both a short phone and short ethernet cable and the set up is complete!
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