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UAEssentials 001:
There are few people in the UAE who do not have a mobile phone. It seems everyone in the country likes to walk along with their phone pressed to their ear, chatting to friends.
That means that one of the first things people want to get sorted when they arrive in the country is their mobile connection.
However, things are not quite the same here as in some other countries, where you can simply walk into a shop, buy a phone with a SIM card and start making calls straight away.
SIM cards here are not issued with the phone itself, as is sometimes the case overseas, but instead are sold separately, and certain documents must be provided before they are handed out.
SIM cards, produced by the UAE’s telecommunications provider Etisalat, are of two types. One is called Al Wasel, which broadly equates to the “pay as you go” services in some other countries.
With these SIM cards, you have to buy pre-paid cards to recharge the phone’s credit. Once the credit runs out, you can no longer make calls and have to buy a new card for Dh25 or Dh40 to recharge it.
The second type is the GSM SIM card. With this service, users receive a monthly bill. If they do not settle the bill within a few days of receiving it, their outgoing calls and then their incoming calls are cut off.
Both services charge calls at the same rate - 24 fils per minute during peak times, 18 fils per minute at off-peak hours - but a major advantage of Al Wasel for new arrivals in Dubai is that a residence visa is not needed to get a SIM card.
To get either type of SIM card, you can go to an Etisalat business centre with a photocopy of your passport - the main information page with your picture plus your entry permit or residence visa - and pay the subscription charge.
A minimum monthly salary of Dh5,000 is needed to get a GSM number, so those hoping to subscribe to this service must additionally bring along proof of their earnings.
Simply fill in the form, pay the fees and the precious SIM card is yours.
For Al Wasel the initial registration charge is Dh165 initially, which must be renewed annually at a cost of Dh100. There is an annual renewal charge of Dh100 and the easiest way of paying this is to use one of the machines that can be found in many Dubai shopping centres. Full details of their locations are available at www.etisalat.ae.
GSM has a slightly costlier Dh185 set up fee, plus a Dh60 renewal charge every three months. Bills, which incorporate the renewal charge, can be paid at the shopping centre machines.
Some Etisalat business centres are open from 8am to 8pm Saturday to Wednesday and 8am to 1pm on Thursday.
Others are open from 7am to 3pm, and 5pm to 7ppm, Saturday to Wednesday, and 8am to pm on Thursday. Yet more open from 7am to 3pm Saturday to Wednesday, and are closed on Thursday and Friday.
As well as being available at Etisalat business centres, Al Wasel SIM cards can also be bought from more than 200 retailers in the UAE. Among the retail chains are Carrefour, Jumbo Electronics, Emarat, Adnoc and Dubai Duty Free. A photocopy of your passport is needed, just as when you are applying at an Etisalat business centre.
For visitors:
A special mobile phone service called Ahlan exists for visitors to the UAE.
SIM cards can be obtained at Etisalat Business Centres, the Etisalat kiosk at Dubai International Airport and at Dubai Duty Free in return for Dh90 and a passport copy showing a valid visit visa.
The Ahlan SIM card is valid for 90 days and offers 90 minutes of free local calls, one free international call of up to three minutes and nine free SMSs.
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