The UAE has been ranked one among the foremost expensive places within the world for home internet access. However, the UAE has the fastest download speed within the region.
The average broadband package costs Dh577 within the UAE. This is the 13th-highest within the world at almost three dozen times. The Dh18 cost of a home package in Ukraine, the most cost-effective country.
A leading analyst said there have been good reasons why internet packages cost more within the UAE than in many other countries.
“When a country’s population is smaller than others it becomes costlier per head to supply this level of service”. This statement was made by Krishna Chinta, telecoms and networking manager with analysts International Data Corporation.
“Any country this size goes to face similar issues as there’s only such a lot which will be avoided affecting profit margins.”
The report, from the buyer website cable.co.uk, compared broadband prices in 195 countries.
The most expensive country was Mauritania, where the typical monthly package was listed because of the equivalent of Dh2,820 per month.
A similar study on mobile data this year from cable.co.uk said the UAE was charging was quite 20% of the worldwide average for 1GB of knowledge.
The average cost of 1GB of knowledge was estimated to be Dh31 and consumers within the UAE were said to be paying Dh37.50 for an equivalent amount.
The cheapest country for mobile data was India, where you’ll get 1GB for Dh0.95. and therefore the costliest was Zimbabwe, where 1GB would set back customers Dh276.
“The UAE isn’t a heavily populated country but it’s alright connected in terms of broadband,” said Mr. Chinta.
“There are more connections in countries that have higher populations which helps them to drive down costs.
“This is actually new-age technology with a new-age infrastructure.”
The World Bank estimated the UAE’s population to be 9.5 million at the beginning of this year.
A lack of choice for UAE consumers is another factor that contributes to the high price of broadband across the Emirates, Mr. Chinta said.
“There are only two providers here within the UAE: du and Etisalat,” he said.
“Other countries have far more choice which helps to make competition, which ends up in prices being dropped.
“The regulators here have already made it clear they’re proud of the 2 providers and haven’t any decision to issue any longer licenses.”
The company also assessed the download speed within the UAE from May 2018 to the present year. It found that the type was 9.62Mbps, meaning it might take about an hour and quarter-hour to download a 5GB movie.
In Taiwan, which was found to possess the fastest internet speed at quite 28Mbps, an equivalent movie would take just over eight minutes to download.
“Only the UAE, with its download speed of 9.62Mbps, offers a mean speed significantly above 6Mbps [in the region],” the report said.
“No countries in the least within the region reach 10Mbps or greater – the speed UK regulator Ofcom considers the minimum required to deal with typical household needs.”
Last month, Etisalat announced it had been increasing the web speed available to customers. the foremost basic package on the company’s website cost Dh359 per month and promised speeds of up to 50Mbps.
On the du website, the most cost-effective package is that the Home Starter Plan that costs Dh299 and offers download speeds of up to 10Mbps. Du, Etisalat and therefore the Telecommunications regulatory agency were contacted for comment.
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