Etisalat Does NOT “Care”

Ryan | Ruwais, UAE | June 26, 2017

If you have any issues with Etisalat services, please call 101 or send them an email : care@etisalat.ae

1. Etisalat is the only Internet, cable TV, landline and mobile phone service provider in Ruwais. If you want to subscribe to DU, you can do that only for mobile services and only by travelling to Abu Dhabi. Other DU home services are only available in Dubai. Thus Etisalat is the ONLY telecom provider for most of UAE.
2. Since 89% of UAE population is made up of expats, it is safe to asume that we need the above mentioned telecom services to stay connected with our family members and keep up with world events.

Because of those 2 reasons, Etisalat does not “care” of their quality of service.

Let’s start with the Internet & Why Etisalat does NOT Care about you ?

• Cost wise: it is expensive.

Just Internet service sold separately is highly uncommon here, unless you are a small business. You can choose to have a basic Internet connection for 299 AED (~81$) for 12 mbps (maximum download speed) under a 12 months contract. And of course they will throw in a landline phone, tv receiver box as it is part of a package. Also :

1. An installation fee of 199 AED applies
2. Cancellation within the 12 months term requires an exit fee
3. Calling a technician to your home to troubleshoot, if the issue is not related to Etisalat, is charged with 250 AED

• Quality wise: it is a poor quality internet considering low upload bandwidth or the fact they you will have limited bandwidth during evening (6pm to 12 pm). I will not bother with speedtests since they will show the full bandwidth only with close servers, and the bandwidth throttling can have excuses like “regulate network traffic and minimize bandwidth congestion”. 
• Censorship wise: considering islamic morality some websites (generally pornography or gambling websites) will be banned. By showing a big Access denied page.
• VOIP wise: ALL VOIP apps (Skype, Whatsapp call, Viber call, Facebook Messenger Call) are blocked.
• VPN wise: VPN usage is illegal in UAE. Criminal charges can range from Content unblocking to encrypted communication related to malicious groups.

Let’s continue with the Cable TV & Why Etisalat does NOT Care about you ?

• I have mentioned at least 2 times that BEIN Sports through Etisalat overcharges football lovers during World Cup or EURO Cup, even though you are subscribed to the sports package.
• I have made a complaint 2 months back regarding that some channels that were in English language and are now being broadcasted in Arabic language. The complaint is now closed, but the issue is still there.
• Setting up a TV receiver and modem in a new home is not free. You will need to pay a 100 AED fee to have your devices relocated, otherwise they will not work if you simply set them up yourself at your new address.
• Are you going on vacation and you do not want to pay when you are not in the UAE ? Sorry, you will still need to pay for that service. Or you can pay a suspension fee. You are allowed to suspend your account one time per year : 30 days suspension costs 185 aed (150 AED + 35 AED devices installments), 60 days suspension is 320 aed (250 AED + 70 AED devices installments)

Let’s end with Landline or Mobile Service & Why Etisalat does NOT Care about you ?

• If you read through the details of your bill you will notice a few calls to unknown numbers, and the provider will charge you for them either way, until you spefically request to block those numbers.
• If you have a mobile service that you have accidentally or unknowing subscribed to, you will be charged until you notice the service fee and have it removed. Sometimes even if you don’t remember the service, and just enquire about them, they will first cancel the services before they offer you any additional information.
• If you live in a new residence area and you don’t have mobile signal inside your home, you may register a complaint and in 30 days Etisalat will tell you what their own findings or signal measurements are. I am still waiting for Etisalat and their follow-up call since I made the complaint in March.

So there you have it, a complete list of things to be aware about Etisalat.

If you can afford it, try and explore the alternative of satelite internet, tv and mobile services. For example Sky-Stream. Safa Telecom or GlobalTT.