Ten years ago, sorting out a mobile phone connection would have been low on the priority list when moving to a new country. First would come bank accounts, housing, utilities and a car. But today, few would last a week in the UAE before getting a new mobile number. Most will want internet access within weeks. And our telecommunications duopoly is more than happy to take your money faster than you can say "details".
Our mobile phones, one technology thinker says, "let us transcend space and time", connecting instantly with anybody we know, regardless of distance. They have moved beyond useful, into the realm of necessary and essential, like shoes or an e-mail address. One worldwide study asked people what were the three essential items they always remember to grab when leaving the house; money, keys and a mobile was the clear answer. If they had to take only two, it would be money and the phone. If only one, the mobile was the winner.
With that in mind, it is surprising that few people take their time in finding a phone and internet plan that is a good deal. Most rush in, like the mad horde of shoppers bursting through the doors of a department store post-Christmas sale, and grab the first shiny thing they see. The UAE's two telecommunications companies, Etisalat and du, each have specific products targeting certain kinds of customers. Depending on how you will use your phone, either company may be a better option.
Etisalat has been doing business since 1976, and currently has the largest and most comprehensive national network. There is hardly a spot in the country where you will not get a strong signal, and almost all populated areas are covered by the new high-speed, third-generation (3G) system. Being a state monopoly for 30 years did not help Etisalat's customer service system, which can vary from good to dreadful, depending on your luck. The internet abounds with painful tales of almost comical incompetence by the company's customer service representatives, although few people are inclined to post a lengthy blog entry detailing an everyday interaction that goes well.
In 2007, du launched its services to the public. Like Etisalat, it is a Government-owned business, which led many to speculate it would not compete too vigorously with what is in effect a sister company. Since launch, it has made clear its intentions to target the budget-conscious segment of the market, with a number of discounts and special offers. The result is a network that has a decidedly working-class reputation. While class relations may be the elephant in the room in most UAE social environments, things get fairly explicit when it comes to mobile phone numbers.
A white-collar professional will rarely have a number beginning with 055, the du prefix, and if you receive a call from the delivery guy or a cleaning lady it will almost always begin that way. This is changing as more new arrivals make an essentially coin-toss decision between the two networks, and an increasing number of people from across the economic spectrum switch to du, either from dissatisfaction with Etisalat or old-fashioned shopping around.
"Never underestimate the power of being better value for money," du's chief executive, Osman Sultan, likes to say. There was a time when such talk sounded out of tune with the UAE's freewheeling culture of spending and consumption, but today, it is spot on. It takes time to roll out a national mobile phone network, and du is still in the process, keeping up with the hundreds of thousands of new customers it is adding every few months. In the meantime, the company has a network-sharing agreement with Etisalat, although it is not clear whether du customers receive equal priority when making and receiving calls in a zone covered by Etisalat equipment.
For whatever reason, the company still has a reputation for network problems. They will get better as time goes on and the rollout of new network equipment continues, but it remains an issue for the company and its customers. The two companies offer fairly similar pricing plans, thanks to strict price controls enforced by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA). In looking to protect an infant du from being bankrupted by a price war with its far larger and better bankrolled competitor, the TRA has prevented either company from offering significant price cuts, and all promotional offers must first receive regulatory approval.
But if you are looking to save money, du is your best bet. The one-off registration fee is Dh100 cheaper than with Etisalat, and calls are charged per second, where Etisalat charges in 30-second blocks. This may not sound like a big deal, but if you make a lot of calls it adds up. Another price advantage with du is the company's "Me & Mine" service. You can select two national and two international numbers and get a 10 per cent discount on all calls to those numbers. This makes a lot of sense if you regularly call the same overseas number, as most expatriates do.
If, however, you plan to use your mobile phone to check e-mails and browse the internet, forget about du. The company's data plans, which give you a fixed download limit each month, are terrible, and basically rule out serious web browsing. The best deal you can get is Dh245 per month for a measly 200 megabytes of downloads, which a committed mobile internet user will burn through in a few days. A serious internet user will want to go for Etisalat's 10 gigabyte package, which costs Dh460. This still feels criminally expensive when compared to the unlimited mobile internet deals you can find in other countries for a quarter of the price, but welcome to the UAE. If you want cheap mobile internet, go to Germany or the US.
One more thing on mobile internet - don't even think about it on a prepaid account with no data plan. You will be charged at least Dh10 per megabyte, meaning you can burn through a Dh25 recharge card checking a few emails. Etisalat's mobile internet can also turn out to be a cost-effective system for getting an internet connection at home. While regular DSL internet, delivered through a landline, may be a little bit faster, cheaper and more reliable, the convenience of a mobile USB modem is excellent. Rather than waiting weeks, maybe months, for a phone line to be connected to your building and then for the internet service to be activated, you can buy an Etisalat mobile internet "dongle"- about the size of a small chocolate bar - from any large electronics store. Take it home, activate the account over the phone, and you have fast internet wherever you are, all the time.
This will cost Dh460 per month, plus a one-off charge of Dh850 to buy the device. That means a year of service ends up costing Dh530 per month, or about Dh200 a month more than the cost of a good fixed-line internet subscription. But it may be worth it, especially if you spend a lot of time on the road. Internet access in most coffee shops and public places is not free ? Etisalat's hot spot service charges Dh10 per hour. Using the wireless internet service in a hotel lobby will cost two-three times more; using the business centre will cost upwards of Dh100 per hour.
Factor in a couple of hours each week using expensive public Wi-Fi, and the general benefit of always having an internet connection, and all a sudden that extra Dh200 doesn't seem so crazy. tgara@thenational.ae
