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1.1. Top FAQ

Q: What is the cost for access and what payment types are accepted?
A: Internet service access prices depend on package selection and we accept cash, major credit cards, Eagle Cash and Military Star Card (at select locations).

Q: What Service Packages are Offered?
A: The following Service Packages are Offered:


Q: Why does the service cost more than it would in the US or EU (often)?

 A: These bullet points hopefully can highlight the differences between local economy mobile/ISP providers and our services:

- Babtel is an AAFES concessionaire, hence our services and prices are within AAFES business model and regulations.

- Babtel contributes 10% of gross sales back to the military for morale funds

- We have a small population of users sharing internet subscriptions, a very well defined and limited customer base. Compared I.E against hundreds of thousands in a regular economy.

- Another difference is we give the customers freedom to choose their daily/weekly/monthly plan from a variety of services available and the ability to change this as they go without tying customers to a long term contract (as most operators will attempt)

- There is significantly increased difficulty and complication when working on bases and remote locations in terms of HR, logistics, and security; which translates to a higher than regular overall operational cost.

- Data caps are set to account for customers sharing internet subscriptions.

- However, despite the smaller population and other points mentioned we are within 15% of the local market prices on our internet services, while offering the highest quality equipment and trained qualified personnel.

Q: What type of download/upload speeds can I expect at my housing area?
A: Customers are provided a connection with a maximum download speed that reaches the advertised package speed (e.g. 512kbps) to the housing areas and other selected areas.1 Service quality has been and will continue to be optimized within Babtel's network by using web caching, application prioritization, fair access queuing and monthly transfer limits.
      As a commercial provider on a military bases, we frequently experience issues with wireless interference, power outages, and equipment failure caused by the harsh environment. We have worked very hard to mitigate these issues and are continuing to do so. We highly recommend that when you're in your room you use the LAN connection instead of the wireless connection.

Q: Do you prioritize or block any ports on your network?
A: Most mainstream application ports are open when initiated from the inside and destined to the internet. No ports are enabled inbound from the Internet, unless specifically configured and secured to do so. We do not prioritize or de-prioritize different application traffic on our networks and cannot do so as per our contract for CAS and AUAB networks in Qatar. 

Q: Is there any type of content filtering or site blocking?
A: Internet service complies with General Order #1 where applicable, which carries certain content restrictions. All Internet traffic related to pornography, hate/terrorist groups, and hacking sites is blocked as best as possible, and strictly prohibited. Server logs and active sessions are examined to adjust content filtering rules. Additionally, peer-to-peer file sharing applications are prohibited in order to comply with such restrictions (where required; these are not blocked at CAS or AUAB). Prohibiting such use also ensures fair access to all users, particularly ensuring that those who are using prioritized applications such as Skype, web browsing and instant messaging are able to do so (this applies to remote sites with limited terrestrial bandwidth, e.g. areas n Iraq or Afghanistan).

Q: What do I do if I can't reach the login page?
A: If you are unable to reach the login page via your wireless or wired connection it is important that we are aware of this issue. The only caveat to this would be if you are not able to see our wireless networks or you see a network cable unplugged error on your computer. In both cases it is most likely a power related issue that is causing your problem. If it's not, our staff will respond to this class of outage within 4 hours. If the issue persists, please contact our sales office or support site immediately and include that your service has not been operational for more than 4 hours. We will send email updates explaining and/or updating our subscribers regarding any such incidents.

Q: I have frequent login errors. What should I do?
A: If you routinely see login errors, generally a message from the login page stating that you are already logged in, please open a service call stating when the problem began and how often it occurs. This issue occurs occasionally for some users who are connected to lower quality links, and often for users on links with degraded service levels.

Q: How do I request support?
A: Although we hope our customers understand some of the challenges we encounter on a regular basis, there are certainly occasions where our help is needed in order to solve a connection issue. In order to make sure that we are aware of problems that you are facing we strongly encourage all users who are facing the following issues to open a service request. You may open a request or check the status of a current request in person at one of our sales offices, via the email ticketing system at CAS Support, or AUAB Support. You can also visit is in our sales and support offices on base--in the PX coart at CAS and in the old  CC Lodging Office (Building 10086) at AUAB. Lastly, here are our phone numbers:

Qatar: +974 3038 8095 
US: +1 866 610 5435 
DSN: 455-8997

WA: +1 215 3304325

Q: Is this a wireless only service or do you provide a wired option as well?
A: The services we are offering depend on the location. Camp As Sayliyah is all wireless except for certain areas in building 408. Al Udeed Air Base is wired everywhere except or transit lodging, though due to limited inside wiring it may be necessary to use a Meraki Z1 to get wireless access. There are certain minimum requirements2 that are needed to attach to our network as well.

Q: Can I supply my own wireless to wired bridge options or other routing/switching equipment?
A: Babtel is contracted by the military to provide the necessary hardware for the wireless network. All third party hardware is considered unauthorized3 and unsupported.

Q: How do you control access to the network?
A: Network access is controlled through dedicated onsite Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting servers. Each client connection generates a unique session ID that is matched to the hardware and IP address of the client machine, and the username/password. Concurrency checking is employed to verify only one client session is permitted per username/password.

Q: How will I know when my subscription expires?
A: Prepaid subscription cards and non-recurring services are generated with a username and password that become active the minute you validate your credentials for the first time, and expire in 1 day, 7 days, or 30 days (depending on the service subscribed to). On our 802.1x WPA2 networks, your machine should logon automatically, until the card has expired, at which point you will again be prompted for your credentials, thus informing you of your expiration. The other client networks and all wired connections, use a captive portal splash page that will reject your login attempt and inform you of your account expiration. You may also check your account usage and expiration by visiting https://account.babtel.net, login with your issued credentials, and go to the status page.

1 Select areas include outside the BX/PX areas, designated common areas, and Babtel offices. 

2 Minimum OS requirements are Microsoft Windows Vista : Service Pack 1, Microsoft 
Windows XP : Service Pack 2, Mac OS X (10.3 or greater). 

3 Any equipment discovered during network scans that conflicts with our service will 
forwarded to the appropriate military representative.

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