# UAE broadband a rip-off



## Bahraini Spirit (Dec 14, 2002)

Hi, well I found this article in Ameinfo, ouch is all I can say:

Etisalat broadband charges of $543 a month for 2MB are a rip-off, and more than 10 times what British Telecom charges, reported a letter to Gulf News. Etisalat said the UAE did not benefit from the UK's economies of scale. Others pointed out that the UAE will not have enough subscribers for such economies of scale until it cuts its high charges, and that many small European countries have done this recently.


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## DarkBlueBoss (Mar 3, 2005)

well, that is true when it comes to economies of scale, 
for example, 
when i was in Ottawa, I subscribed to AOL and i was paying ($29.99 / month , with only 10 hours of free , and each addition hour is $ 4.95) that was a ripoff, 
then i realized that in the US they are paying $ 19.99 with unlimited usage,
so i called AOL canada and asked them, and they told cause simple we dont have a large number os subscribers in Canada, which drives us prices like this, 
so Etisalat is not to blame, how many people have BroadBand 2MB at home ???


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## ragga (Jan 23, 2005)

here in the US you can get 8mbit(about 800KB/second download and 512kb/sec upload -- the cost of it is only 40$ approximately 146 dirhams. From 8mbit to 512kb download is going to seem like going from T1 to dial-up speed. I hope they a. increase the bandwidth amount for upload/download and b. reduce the price. I dont konw if its the fiber line cost thats driving up the prices or the amount of subscribers. 

Soon enough this will happen (hopefully within the next 1.5-2 years) Once a large destinaion like JBR/Palm is 100% complete for SURE.


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## AltinD (Jul 15, 2004)

If they lower the prices they'll get more clients for sure. I'll be one of them.


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## BinDubai (Aug 31, 2004)

me 2 ... anyway The UAE is a growing It market and high bandwidth is needed ... i wish i had DIC connection hehe 30GB/s or might be more


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## ahmedr (Feb 1, 2004)

Over here (Cairo, Egypt) I pay EGP 250 which is approximately AED 155 for a 512Kb ADSL connection although the market is definitely much smaller than in the UAE. I dont think demand has anything to do with it beacause Im pretty sure that these people know they can get the whole country using broadband if they offer rates like those ragga was talking about in the US.


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## juiced (Aug 18, 2004)

The already crappy Etisalat connection is made worse by that proxy.


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## AltinD (Jul 15, 2004)

And the response time of the proxy has increased alot recently, obviously due to increased traffic.

Not only the roads are congested now, but even the internet connections. I am really feeling the difference recently, is not only this site that takes time to load, all of them, most of the time.


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## ragga (Jan 23, 2005)

I didn't even think of the proxy that etisalat uses.. i just sipmly use remote desktop and login to my work servers here in US (when i am in dubai) and use it simply becuase the connection at work is 100mbit and in uae its around .5mbit... i thikn they should lower rates like Altind_Carnut said they probably will be able to surpass their numbers so they can increase the bandwidth as well...

hmm we will see what they will do. im sure they will accommodate soon enough.


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## Taufiq (Oct 14, 2004)

Bahraini Spirit said:


> Etisalat broadband charges of $543 a month for 2MB


That is a lot for only 2mbps.. compared to prices here in Toronto. In the last week almost everyone has joined in the uproar against Etisalat's 'monopoly'; let's see what happens.


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## DUBAI (Aug 24, 2004)

consider yourselves lucky to have it at all.

its far too cheap for what you get, in the uk anyway IMO.

not that i want to pay more, but compare it to other services, like phone calls, its damn good value.


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## Qatar4Ever (Feb 3, 2004)

this is a heavy load of BS. Etisalt doesnt need any economies of scale, rules of economic shouldnt apply to compaines like etisalt qtel and the whole bunch. They are monoplies, they either make a whole lot of money, or even more moeny. What costs ?? please, what was etisalts last net income around ?? probably the GDP of a little african country. 

Besides, over $500, in qatar you can get the 1 MB for about 400 riyals per month and the 2 MB for around 500 riyals. And i believe estisalt has a customer base twice if not triple that of QTEL.


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## XREX (Mar 17, 2005)

This is the correct pricing for "Etisalat" Al Shamil DSL [Monthly Charges]:-

Al Shamil 256K 190AED
Al Shamil 512K 250AED
Al Shamil 1MB 450AED
Al Shamil 2MB 650AED


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## DarkBlueBoss (Mar 3, 2005)

thats home USE ^
business Use is 
Al Shamil 512K 890AED
Al Shamil 1MB 1500AED
Al Shamil 2MB 2000AED
with 20 MB upload and download max a months, a charge of 150 dirhams per additional MB i think


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## Krazy (Apr 27, 2004)

DarkBlueBoss said:


> with 20 MB upload and download max a months, a charge of 150 dirhams per additional MB i think


 :eek2: 

That's nuts!


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## DarkBlueBoss (Mar 3, 2005)

oh sorry, let me correct my self, 

with a 15 GB max download and upload, abnd 150 dhs per addition GB , opss, sorry


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## Qatar4Ever (Feb 3, 2004)

yeah ok no one said those were the business rates, these rates make more sense.


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## ragga (Jan 23, 2005)

"with a 15 GB max download and upload, abnd 150 dhs per addition GB , opss, sorry" ok now this is what affects me :-( oh well -- hoepfully they will come up with more competitive rates/plans as my businesses run on the internet


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