Jeddah eSIM
In Jeddah you connect to STC or Mobily, whichever is performing better where you are standing. The typical speed across the country is 83 Mbps. Your data starts working the moment you land, before you reach the immigration hall.
- Networks
- STC and Mobily
- Typical speed in Saudi Arabia
- 83 Mbps typical, 24 Mbps at busy times
- 5G
- yes, standalone and non standalone
- Throttle
- None on metered plans
- Tethering
- Allowed on every plan
Plans that cover Jeddah
| Data | Validity | Price per GB | Price | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | Never expires | $8.89 | $8.89 | |
| 3 GB | Never expires | $5.63 | $16.89 | |
| 5 GBMost travellers | Never expires | $4.78 | $23.89 | |
| 10 GB | Never expires | $3.39 | $33.89 | |
| 20 GB | Never expires | $2.64 | $52.89 |
How Saudi Arabia compares across Middle East
- Regional typical speed
- 72 Mbps
- Upstream networks
- 2, STC, Mobily
- 5G
- Yes, standalone and non standalone
- Next fastest nearby
- Kuwait, 86 Mbps
- Next slowest nearby
- Bahrain, 78 Mbps
- Cities with their own page
- 3: Riyadh, Jeddah, AlUla
Landing at King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED)
- Airport
- JED / OEJN
- Distance
- 19 km from the centre of Jeddah
- Wifi on arrival
- Free wifi in the terminalThe airport network is named _KAIA Free Wi-Fi. You pick it, a welcome page opens, and you tap Connect Now to accept the terms. No phone number, SMS code or account is needed, and the airport states there is no limit on the number of sessions.
Getting into Jeddah
- Haramain High Speed Railway from the Airport-Jeddah station, on a 3.75 km branch line, to Mecca, Medina and King Abdullah Economic City (JED)
- Airport taxi ranks at Terminal 1, the North Terminal and the Hajj and Umrah Terminal (JED)
Worth knowing about Jeddah
- Terminal 1 at Jeddah has its own Haramain High Speed Railway station, reached by a 3.75 km branch line, with direct trains to Mecca and Medina.
- The airport has a dedicated Hajj Terminal designed to hold 80,000 pilgrims at once.
- The old South Terminal closed in 2020 after 40 years; non-Saudi airlines use the North Terminal while Terminal 1 opened in 2019.
- CST and the Ministry of Interior let international pilgrims activate an eSIM through a licensed operator's own app, verified digitally by biometric check in the Absher application, so they are connected on arrival. Announced 21 May 2025.
- The regulator directed telecom providers to verify mobile subscribers by fingerprint or through the Absher system, starting 21 January 2016. Numbers that are not verified lose outgoing messaging for two weeks, then service, and can be restored within 90 days.
- Carrying voice calls over internet protocol to users in Saudi Arabia is a licensed activity. CST issues a Virtual Voice Services Provider permit under regulations it approved by decision 484/1443 on 20 April 2022.
- CST's Saudi Internet Report 2025 puts average mobile data use at 53 GB per person per month, three times the global average, and the median mobile download speed at 216 Mbps.
- For the 2025 Hajj season CST reported more than 10,500 wifi access points across Makkah, Madinah and the Holy Sites, with 5G coverage there at 99 percent and 4G coverage above 99 percent.
- Before the 2025 Hajj season CST inspected King Abdulaziz International Airport as one of the pilgrim entry points, and said more than 4,000 telecom sector staff were working at the entry points and in the Holy Sites.
- On 14 June 2024 CST measured 33.7 million voice calls, of which 2.6 million were international, and 6.3 thousand terabytes of data in Makkah and the Holy Sites, with average mobile download speed of 432.09 Mbit/s.
- From 1 April 2025 Jeddah's public bus network runs 14 routes with 80 stops and 117 air conditioned shelters. The Jeddah Buses app sells tickets electronically, and payment options include Mada cards and paying onboard.
- Mobily visitor packages last 14 to 30 days depending on tier. The entry Visitor 30 gives 5 GB of data and 60 minutes and is valid 14 days.
- Zain KSA lists the social applications bundled with its visitor packages as YouTube, Facebook, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Telegram.
- Terminal 1 has 46 gates and a mosque for 3,000 worshippers. The North Terminal has 14 gates, 54 check in desks and 55 immigration counters, and the Hajj and Umrah complex covers over half a million square metres.
- The airport handled over 49 million passengers and over 278,000 flight movements in 2024, and moved over 47 million bags, up 21 percent on the previous year.