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-   -   Sim Card?? Dubai (https://britishexpats.com/forum/middle-east-60/sim-card-dubai-907448/)

yassar Jan 3rd 2018 3:08 pm

Sim Card?? Dubai
 
Hi Guys.

So i travel for work to Dubai at the end of this month. I am in search of a good service provider and not very expensive.

I have come across Etislat at 450AED which is 90GBP. ( And it doesn't come with an iPhone X)

Ideally I'm looking for minutes, and importantly Data as i would wish to use Waze, Googlemaps. Getting from A to B.

Any Suggestions?

Thanks in Advance.

Arfana Jan 3rd 2018 9:23 pm

Re: Sim Card?? Dubai
 
I'm in the same boat! I've heard Du is supposed to be cheaper than etisalat.

yassar Jan 3rd 2018 10:16 pm

Re: Sim Card?? Dubai
 
Ive done some research and notice there is a third provider which is virgin media.

I think my important question is what is an average monthly amount spent on your mobile phone.

Currently in the UK ive got everything unlimited and have never had to worry about it "/

jam25mack Jan 4th 2018 5:20 am

Re: Sim Card?? Dubai
 
I think your only option is a pre-paid sim as you need a residency visa to get a contract. You can get these at the airport. Not sure of the packages.

As for Etisalat or Du they are much of a muchness. I am on Etisalat and I think its generally better coverage. Similarly they are similar on costs. I think it is more which package suits you best. Mine costs on average 400 - 450 AED / month on a contract (20Gb data).

Virgin is the same as Du in terms of coverage etc as they use Du's network, although in true Virgin fashion I hear they are better to deal with and are more flexible.

At the end of the day, this is Dubai. Most things are expensive!

yassar Jan 4th 2018 1:27 pm

Re: Sim Card?? Dubai
 

Originally Posted by jam25mack (Post 12410618)
I think your only option is a pre-paid sim as you need a residency visa to get a contract. You can get these at the airport. Not sure of the packages.

As for Etisalat or Du they are much of a muchness. I am on Etisalat and I think its generally better coverage. Similarly they are similar on costs. I think it is more which package suits you best. Mine costs on average 400 - 450 AED / month on a contract (20Gb data).

Virgin is the same as Du in terms of coverage etc as they use Du's network, although in true Virgin fashion I hear they are better to deal with and are more flexible.

At the end of the day, this is Dubai. Most things are expensive!


400-450AED per month for my sim card. Thats something I'm going to have to get my head around.

UKMS Jan 4th 2018 9:34 pm

Re: Sim Card?? Dubai
 
I started with a PAYG sim from Etisalat then moved the number on to a contract once I was settled ..... agree with jam25mack on the coverage ..... wife had a du sim and coverage wasn’t as good .... you also tend to see more Etisalat kiosks and shops around although that could simply be where I live/work/shop. My bill ranges between 450-600 depending on work use ..... my wife pays 150 But doesn’t get much for that. I find Etisalat good for being able to add on packs depending on what you need in any given month ..... generally with your minutes you can choose between local or flexible ..... you get less flexi minutes for your money but you can call many international numbers out of your allocation .... I use this for a lot of my calls to the UK.

yassar Jan 4th 2018 10:16 pm

Re: Sim Card?? Dubai
 
I have just seen on virgin mobile UAE.

500mins 6GB Data and 50 International minutes for 192AED?

Surely with the reception here and there spending 30GBP or double is still better than 600AED.


Let me know guys.

UKMS Jan 5th 2018 5:36 am

Re: Sim Card?? Dubai
 

Originally Posted by yassar (Post 12411240)
I have just seen on virgin mobile UAE.

500mins 6GB Data and 50 International minutes for 192AED?

Surely with the reception here and there spending 30GBP or double is still better than 600AED.


Let me know guys.

Really depends on your needs ....... for 450aed I think I get 600 flexi minutes (I can call UK with this) and 24gb data ..... and my plan allows me to add roaming packs on if I travel. Also worth looking at the charges if you exceed your data/minutes .... better to have too much than exceed and get stung.

As has been mentioned it’s expensive here so can be pointless converting things back to GBP and comparing plans to the UK if you are earning AED. ...... wait until you start looking at your utilities, TV/Internet :)

Millhouse Jan 5th 2018 9:40 am

Re: Sim Card?? Dubai
 

Originally Posted by UKMS (Post 12411393)
Really depends on your needs ....... for 450aed I think I get 600 flexi minutes (I can call UK with this) and 24gb data ..... and my plan allows me to add roaming packs on if I travel. Also worth looking at the charges if you exceed your data/minutes .... better to have too much than exceed and get stung.

As has been mentioned it’s expensive here so can be pointless converting things back to GBP and comparing plans to the UK if you are earning AED. ...... wait until you start looking at your utilities, TV/Internet :)

I paid 25dh for some celery yesterday. That’s more than five pounds in real money.

I have a post paid phone that work pays for. I think my minimum bill is 1200 and max around 3500. Madness, I don’t even use it that much.

scrubbedexpat141 Jan 7th 2018 4:13 am

Re: Sim Card?? Dubai
 

Originally Posted by Millhouse (Post 12411500)
I paid 25dh for some celery yesterday. That’s more than five pounds in real money.

I have a post paid phone that work pays for. I think my minimum bill is 1200 and max around 3500. Madness, I don’t even use it that much.

Careful, you'll get slaughtered on here for being so wasteful with money. Fiver on celery? Prepare for judgement.

Snap on the work phone, lowest is 400ish which is fine but when away it's 3,000. Thank goodness work pay, the lack of competition means it's silly expensive.

Miss Ann Thrope Jan 7th 2018 8:50 am

Re: Sim Card?? Dubai
 

Originally Posted by Millhouse (Post 12411500)
I paid 25dh for some celery yesterday. That’s more than five pounds in real money.

I have a post paid phone that work pays for. I think my minimum bill is 1200 and max around 3500. Madness, I don’t even use it that much.

We had crazy phone bills at work and have clamped down. My personal tariff has gone from AED4000/month with full on mega super platinum blah blah global roaming to a sensible AED250 odd per month with roaming pack switched on whenever I travel for about an extra 200 a week. My department spent over $40k on mobile bills in 2016, down to about $12k in 2017 (even though it took months of notice into 2017 to finally cancel my tariff). Ok we're using Skype a lot more but otherwise no compromise in ability to communicate.

We've also cut everybody's celery...

Millhouse Jan 7th 2018 11:09 am

Re: Sim Card?? Dubai
 

Originally Posted by Miss Ann Thrope (Post 12412859)
We had crazy phone bills at work and have clamped down. My personal tariff has gone from AED4000/month with full on mega super platinum blah blah global roaming to a sensible AED250 odd per month with roaming pack switched on whenever I travel for about an extra 200 a week. My department spent over $40k on mobile bills in 2016, down to about $12k in 2017 (even though it took months of notice into 2017 to finally cancel my tariff). Ok we're using Skype a lot more but otherwise no compromise in ability to communicate.

We've also cut everybody's celery...

Fine or rough chopped. My slow cooked beef shanks in red wine required rough chopped.


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