UAE internet, phone services are among world’s costliest

The UAE has one of the costliest internet and telephone service in the world despite a series of charges cuts over the past few years, with its broadband fees exceeding those in Europe by a whopping $1700 a month.

“Telecommunications services in the UAE are far costlier than those in Europe,” the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) said in a report published on Thursday by the UAE Arabic language daily Emirat Alyoum.

“There is a big price gap between the UAE and Europe especially in high-speed broadband services, which could reach $1700 a month.”

Internet charges in the UAE are also the highest in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) while the country offers one of the cheapest mobile phone services in the GCC and other Arab nations.

Another report by the Cairo-based Arab Regulators Network (AREGNET), which groups 15 government telecom regulators in the region, found that fixed-line telephone services for business purposes in the UAE are “very costly” while residential telephone services are much less costly.

The report noted that the UAE is among only four Arab countries that operate high-speed broadband services.