ications Computer (STC) will increase the number of ports to 10,000 from 5,000 by the end of July” (Reuters, 1999, 1).
This will definitely have an impact on commerce in Saudi Arabia even if we only look at the commerce generated by the newly afforded access, “There are 26 ISPs operating in the kingdom now, out of 40 originally licensed to provide Internet service…Each ISP has already given a bank guarantee of around one million riyals ($266,667) to KACST, the Saudi body charged with supervising the Net” (Saudi To Double, 1999, 1). Traditionally, Saudi leaders were opposed to communications, like satellites, that would allow Saudis access to unrestricted pornography, political discourse and Western ways. However, most Saudis now have satellite dishes and it is becoming increasingly more difficult for the government to erect barriers to information in the technology era. The advent of satellites, MTV and the Internet have helped shaped Saudi society into a hybrid of traditional and new values. These communication and commerce devices have also boosted Saudi desire for trade with the West. A challenge to commercial development on the Internet will be the Saudi government’s resistance to social and cultural change, “A demonstrated appetite for Big Macs, Chevy Caprices and cell phones does not mean the Saudis are buying everything the outside world is selling. Saudis cling tenaciously to what their leaders used to call Islamic values, but—in language that sounds suspiciously American—they now are calling ‘family values’” (Hundley, 1998, 34A).
One of the biggest push factors in forcing the government to allow Internet access is the desire on behalf of Saudi business owners to take advantage of the c
...