du ups UAE broadband speeds

du has announced new broadband packages for home users that offer connection speeds four times faster than existing broadband services in the UAE.

The new packages, which are available now, include connectivity speeds of 4Mbps, 8Mbps and 12 Mbps, with unlimited downloads and free anti-virus and anti-spyware software.

The consumer packages cost AED 449 ($122), AED 599 ($163) and AED 749 ($203) per month respectively. The 12Mbps package is three times faster than Etisalat’s current fastest offering of 4Mbps, which costs the same as the equivalent du service.

Farid Faraidooni, EVP Commercial, du, said: “Our new broadband packages will significantly enhance our customers’ internet browsing experience. 12Mbps is a giant leap forward in terms of speed and a milestone in our efforts towards excellence through product innovation. This offering further underscores our ambition of raising the level of telecommunications in the UAE to best in class international standards and taking the lead in this sector.”

du also revealed its new Broadband Unlimited Plus package for business users, which offers a range of connection speeds and support, plus optional value added services including web hosting and messaging products.

Business customers can also get four times the normal connection speed for the same price if they subscribe to Broadband Unlimited Plus for one year – meaning customers can get an 8Mbps connection for the price of a 2Mbps line, up to 48Mbps.

“Speed & reliability are critical when accessing information and taking business decisions. Businesses are increasingly utilizing and relying on the Internet for work related emails, research, e-commerce and to access relevant information on a day to day basis. Our offer is simple yet powerful enough to create a real impact on our customers' business through high speed data uploads and downloads at no extra cost,” Faraidooni added.

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Just when you think things couldn't get worste than they possibly are....
Posted by Chadi El Refaei, dubai, U.A.E on Thursday 16 October 2008 at 12:50 UAE time


DU as far is customer service is the worst company I have had to deal with, try calling DU now and expect to be on hold for at least 20 minutes any time during the day, after having to select ( 1 for customer service 2 for billing) you realize the person on the other end is nothing more than a operator who won't let you speak directly to anyone in billing or IT He takes down your complaint gives you a complaint number and tells you that " someone will get back to you"
As far as the new connection speed me and a friend both upgraded to 8 MBPS and 12 MBPS at the same time, well, its been two weeks, we are now being charged the new prices with one problem, our connection speed is still exactly the same as it was. We call DU almost everyday only to get a promise that the problem should be fixed soon and that we should expect a call from a so called "IT professional". To add to the insult one of DU's IT professionals called my friend and informed him that 12 mbps stands for megabytes per minute!
I think I said enough, and by the way, I am trying to reach DU now been on hold for 8 minutes and counting........

du don't do it right
Posted by Graham Plater, Munich, Germany on Monday 6 October 2008 at 17:35 UAE time


Du should be renamed as a reflection of their standard of customer service (making even Etisalat look good, and that's a hard one). These people realise that they have a captive audience to fool around with - anywhere else they would be blown off the market in a matter of weeks. So, how about "don't"?

Pathetic Customer Service
Posted by S K, Dubai, UAE on Monday 6 October 2008 at 11:39 UAE time

Just like every other company in Dubai, Du's customer service is beyond pathetic. Third world countries have more competent and helpful staff than the ones that man the Du customer service desk. It took me two weeks and over 10 calls to Du to get my internet service increased after the upgrade request had already been processed.

At least they are doing a good thing by introducing higher broadband speeds, but the prices are never going to go down unfortunately, because they have a monopoly.

Unless there are more professional international telecom providers introduced into the market, Du and Etisalat's services are going to be third class and yet their prices are through the roof. Disgrace to the so called progressive city of Dubai where we have an Internet City but pathetic internet service.

I'm sick
Posted by Annonymous, AD, UAE on Sunday 21 September 2008 at 13:33 UAE time


Seriously, I'm too sickened from the Internet services we are getting in UAE. Not only these people don't know how to run a business right but also they charge like hell for some faulty services that should be available for free!! Goddamnit.

Forced to use this expensive and bad service
Posted by Du-is-bad, Dubai, UAE on Saturday 20 September 2008 at 13:27 UAE time


Unfortunately I have no choice, I have to use DU where I live, but their Broadband service is very very expensive compared to the world, and indeed the international connection speed and latency is slow (only local connection is ok). If I had more choices, I would not recommend DU.

Du Services
Posted by sam, Dubai, UAE on Saturday 20 September 2008 at 09:30 UAE time

I agree with Sanjay its fine for Du to introduce higher speeds but its pricing is way out of anything reasonable that can be benchmarked globally. I would encourage DU to get the basics right first , like customer service and a call center that knows what going on when there are service faults, before trying to move into the 21 century.

Du Du Du Du Du
Posted by Sanjay, Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Friday 19 September 2008 at 16:50 UAE time


All these comments and not one that partly sides with Du.

Seems their PR and Advertising campaign - not to mention their services need a complete overhaul.

Du Du Du Du Du Du Duuuuu

Bad internet from Du, regardless of the speed.
Posted by Fadi, dubai, UAE on Friday 19 September 2008 at 10:14 UAE time


I have increased my package to the highest offering form Du and it cant be worse than this, I don't care how much they charge, the latency and quality of service is so lousy that you cant view a youtube clip without disruptions and in peak hours, dream on. a 56k modem connection still gives same speed during peak hours.
Online gaming is the worst in the GCC.
I tried 256 in kuwait and its better than here
Bahrain has better quality
Qatar has the best and it seems they are truly doing a better job than the rip off we are getting in Du (controlled) area.

GREED
Posted by Sanjay, Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Thursday 18 September 2008 at 15:55 UAE time


Du's pricing is astronomical. I feel they want to recover all their infrastructure costs etc etc etc in first few months of launch. I am not sure if users can choose betwen Etisalat and Du? If they could Du would be washing clothes.

Du Broadband speeds
Posted by abu Yousuf, dubai, uae on Thursday 18 September 2008 at 13:24 UAE time


Since there is virtually no overlap of their service areas, I doubt that this will put any competitive pressure on Etisalat. I subscribe to the alleged 4 megabit Etisalat service (dhs 449/mo), and while it is petty fast within the country, speeds are pretty slow internationally. It is such a shame that greed has overshadowed the powers that control telecom that communication is as important as transportation! How about spending 10% of the budget for airports to provide 'first world' data speeds. How about WiMax? While du's provisioning of faster speeds is to be applauded, there pricing is orders of magnitude greater tan than other competitive markets in the rest of the world.

Dubai Du-opoly Rip Off
Posted by Davey, Dubai, UAE on Thursday 18 September 2008 at 11:15 UAE time


Let me think about that for a minute
I currently pay $ 30 US for unlimited 8 Meg broadband in London
and now I can pay $ 163 US for the same service here in Dubai
Wow !
Thats more than a 500% increase
how can they legitimately justify this difference?

Although I did learn semaphore and smoke signals at boy scouts, that may be faster than the current rush hour bandwidth !

Bandwidth and latency
Posted by S MacGillivray, Dubai, UAE on Thursday 18 September 2008 at 09:45 UAE time

Bandwidth is good if you are downloading large files but the often missed performance requirement is latency and quality of service. Both of these are important if you play online games and unfortunately both are poor in the UAE.

Who Du they think they're kidding?
Posted by Naz Hussain on Wednesday 17 September 2008 at 17:12 UAE time

Are these people on narcotics?

Who in their right mind will pay over £100 per month for a 12MB connection for domestic use??

What planet are these people living on? It's certainly not the one that the rest of the world is on.

Congratulations Du. For being the provider with (probably) the most expensive broadband service in the world. I suggest the CEO leaves his palace one fine summer's day and takes a weekend break to London, or New York, or Tokyo, or Paris, or Singapore.... and pops into the office of a local telecoms provider and asks what they charge per month for domestic internet services, oh and whilst he's at it, he should ask what their connection speeds are too.

The quality of Services and latency
Posted by Fadi Chami, Dubai, UAE on Wednesday 17 September 2008 at 17:09 UAE time

Du may provide faster speeds but their latency is high and in peak times, they have the worst connection in the GCC. On a 1Mbps connection you can't view YouTube movies without disruption.

4x3=12 4X4=16
Posted by Ashraf Pasha, Abu Dhabi, UAE on Wednesday 17 September 2008 at 12:37 UAE time

Please correct...

Editor's reply: Thanks for pointing that out, duly amended.

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