Landline, Mobile, Internet, TV.

If you have decided to relocate to Dubai or just visit this magnificent place, you would probably want to get yourself connected. This post is about your options, when it comes to choosing the right provider. Don't worry it will not be difficult at all, because there are only two telecommunications companies here in Dubai.

• Etisalat
• DU

Etisalat is the first and oldest operator. DU is pretty quite new player yet. For many years Etisalat enjoyed sole monopoly in the UAE. However, now it has a rival - DU. When you are choosing a communication provider in Dubai you don't have much options. Honest advice: go for Etisalat if you wish to have maximum coverage and reliable network framework, but you must be ready not to call customer service, like never-ever, because they just don't help here. DU's customer service is slightly better, but same story.

Now, DU is like a new feature packed South Korean car. They introduced VOiP for mass usage. DU can offer you various packages that is not available with Etisalat, or available but slightly expensive. However, DU still has an issue of mobile network coverage. When you need to use your phone the most, DU fails. Integrated home based services (land-line, internet and TV) on the other hand is relatively better.

Both companies more likely to mix up your bill and send you the wrong one, and if you do not notice, you overpay. In such a case, calling their customer service line (101-Etisalat, and 155-DU) is not enough. It will just lead you to endless frustration, because the person on the other line may not help you. It is more or less effective to approach their office directly and launch a complain, and if you happen to launch a complain make sure to follow up, because they might remember it in the next year. Then again, in which country telecoms work perfectly? I think you can count such companies, if they exist.

What you should be aware of?

• Telecoms pretty much divided the entire city and DU serves mostly free-hold and free-zone areas, and Etisalat is the king for the rest of the city. Until recently one would not be able to have DU services living in Etisalat covered area and vice-versa. So basically, had you lived in Jumeirah Lake Towers, your definite provider would have been DU, and you would not have been able to choose Etisalat over DU. Nowadays, it seems that DU is slowly-slowly arriving into Etisalat's kingdom, but that process can take several years. Verdict: do not believe if someone tells you that STRATA law works perfectly in Dubai. It is a very new law here and needs lots of testing on the ground and etc...

• In Dubai, make sure to ask what is the definition of the word "Unlimited". Telecoms tend to limit the word "Unlimited" by quotas. For instance, Etisalat has "Unlimited" 3G data package that is somehow limited to 10 GB per month. They call it "fair usage". "Unlimited" internet plan is subject to fair usage of 100GB / month.

• Upgrading your account from its existing plan is usually free, but it might come to you as a surprise that downgrading can cost you money. If you have a promotional subscription, make sure you read the entire terms and conditions. For instance: when you apply for home services during promotion, do not make changes to your subscription for 12 months, otherwise you will loose all promotional benefits and will be asked to pay the difference.

• In case you are late with your monthly payments, your line/s will not be automatically disconnected, as you would have thought logically. You will continue being billed. Should you have any financial problems, and not able to pay your bills on time, visit their office and disconnect your line, otherwise payback will be pretty costly.

• Both DU and Etisalat do not tell you that you can put a cap on your mobile post-paid line. By default they will subscribe you on Unlimited post-paid line, meaning that your bill can go up to ANY amount of money in a month. However, if you are used to limited post-paid plan (e.g. not more than $200/month), you'd better ask them before applying. Getting a new post-paid line is a bit time consuming process because you will be asked to provide your passport copy, salary certificate and stuff like that. My advice is to get any nice pre-paid number and simply upgrade it. Note: when you upgrade from pre-paid to post-paid, you will not be able to request a monthly cap on your bill. To do that, you should have been applied to post-paid number initially. 

You might want to visit the websites of DU and Etisalat for precise pricing information. 

Should you have specific questions about Etisalat or DU, send me an email and I will definitely reply.