Etisalat Quick Recharge – How it Works?

Etisalat offers a long list of ways by which you can recharge your mobile account and stay connected with your friends, loved ones, and contacts, at all times. You may choose from a range of online services through the Etisalat Online Services portal, which you can use to log into your account and recharge your prepaid mobile using your debit or credit card. There is also the Etisalat Mobile App, which you can download on your mobile phone and use to create an account, view your personal information, recharge your mobile, and do so much more. The App is available on Google Play and the iOS App Store. Etisalat Quick Recharge is also a popular option for recharging your mobile account.

The Etisalat Quick Recharge service is one of the most convenient ways to reload your Etisalat prepaid account. The system requires you to log on to www.etisalat.ae/quickpay which will automatically bring you to a page where you can either pay your bills or recharge your mobile number quickly, safely, and easily using your debit or credit card. All you will need to do is enter your mobile number and the amount you wish to reload, pay with your appropriate card, and wait for the recharge to complete and the prepaid amount to be credited to your mobile number.

Convenience and speed are major advantages of using Etisalat Quick Charge, but it also offers the benefit of a one-stop location for paying your bills, provided that your accounts are under one Emirates ID. This kind of convenience can be found in a number of web and mobile apps these days, providing you with a single, central locations where you can conduct a range of transactions and facilitate connections with various businesses and services so you won’t have to worry about keeping track of multiple accounts when making payments, placing orders, or booking services.

Market Saturation – Telecommunication Industry in the UAE

The United Arab Emirates has a pretty well-developed telecommunication infrastructure and it benefits a lot from high penetration rates in both the mobile as well as fixed-line networks. This telecommunication infrastructure is further enhanced by the Dubai City Smart Initiative. Even though UAE itself is considered to be one of the most advanced markets of the Middle East, it is also the least liberalized when it comes to its telecommunication sector which remains a duopoly with only two telecom operators with limited foreign investment.

The TRA is the main regulator and it was established in 2003 under the 2003 Telecom Law and has the responsibility to manage each and every aspect of the telecommunication and Information Technology industries in the UAE. Some of the responsibilities of the TRA include issuing licenses, enforcing regulations, promoting e-government, establishing access management policies, resolving conflicts and disputes, ensuring service quality and access equity.

During the late 1970s and the early 1980s, the federal government progressively nationalized the telecom sector and established the Emirates Telecommunication Corporation or Emirtel which was later renamed as Etisalat as the sole provider of telecommunication services in UAE. Etisalat is 60 percent owned by the government whereas 40 percent of its shares belong to a group of UAE nationals. Till 2006, Etisalat was the only provider of telephone and telecom services in UAE. However from February 2006, this monopoly enjoyed by Etisalat alone became a duopoly when Du entered the market as a new telephone company and internet service provider. This UAE telecom duopoly is made up of Etisalat and Du both of which are majorly owned by the government. Du was launched in 2006 and despite the various inter-connection difficulties and zero number portability it faced, it has continued to gain ground against Etisalat and now controls over 48.17 percent of the mobile market. The reason why it gained ground so quickly against Etisalat is the high percentage of the expatriate population in the UAE which provides the company with a constantly changing pool of subscribers.

Like other Middle Eastern countries, the Emirates also enjoys a youthful population where twenty-nine to thirty-two percent of its residents are between the ages of 25 to 34 and hence because of this demographic makeup, provides this telecom duopoly a useful barrier in terms of local revenue and net profit expansion. Apart from competing on service and speed, these two telecom giants are also competing against one another in terms of quality and variety which includes services such as delivery of new applications and packages to existing and potential customers so as to encourage new entrants to subscribe as well as to convince old ones to stay rather then switch.

To keep in lieu with the competition between these two telecom giants, Du has made increasing efforts to expand its customer services by increasing its customer representation and by improving employee training. Du has also introduced flexible packages for its existing customers, which from Du is a type of strategic play as both Du and Etisalat realize the disadvantages of a price war.

For a long time, both Etisalat and Du have enjoyed a duopoly in the sector however now to combat this market saturation, the TRA has issued licenses to many niche outfits such as the Al Yah Satellite Communications, Thuraya, Media Zone Intaj and FZ which have licenses to offer satellite services in the Emirates. According to the research conducted by the TRA, it was found out that there are over 2.13 million fixed-line subscribers, 17.13 million mobile users and 1.1 million internet subscribers in the UAE alone. However, even though many flexible packages are available to the users, international calls are still quite expensive in UAE and this is due to the traditional restrictions on the VoIP. Both Etisalat and Du benefit from high pricing here as the Emirates has a cosmopolitan population and a high concentration of multinational offices and hence an increased demand for international calls.

As far as the mobile segment of the telecommunication market is concerned; we can see both Etisalat and Du continue to focus their efforts on the provision of more flexible and attractive packages to their customers in attempt to gain market share. However, when we look at the potential capacity, the level of technical sophistication and the growing demand from the young and tech-savvy population, we see that there is still a lot of substantial development to take place in the future.

As far as Etisalat is concerned, we see that there is a saturation of the local market which will ensure a continued focus of the company on the development of international operations. Secondly, as market saturation goes, we have seen that there is a high demand for 4G LTE networks and fiber-optics fixed lines in terms of delivering new services and hence in UAE, we see a growth of e-commerce as well as other online services like icfliz which streams Bollywood, Hollywood and Jazzwood movies and seasons.

The drivers or the key factors for the growth in the UAE Telecom sector include robust economic growth, foreign investment and government initiatives whereas the restraints pertaining to market saturation in the telecom industry are the high costs of telecoms.

In 2018, we see both Etisalat and Du showing a deep interest in the development of 5G technology and this venture of theirs is fully supported by the TRA itself. The evolution of UAE telecommunication industry is inevitable as the telecom operators themselves are now seen facing the challenges pertaining to the mobile market maturity over the past year due to mobile and smartphone ownership rates reaching saturation points and hence operators are turning towards other services and strategies to boost profitability.

SpotServe LLC is a facilitator of Etisalat and Du services through the mobile app for multiple services- SpotServe is available for free on Google Play and Apple Store or get an invite to download the beta version at https://www.spotserve.ae/dl

   Sources:

1. Everington, John. (2017). Telecoms year in review: UAE operators test new brands and ICT strategy in search for growth. Retrieved fromhttps://www.thenational.ae/business/technology/telecoms-year-in-review-uae-operators-test-new-brands-and-ict-strategy-in-search-for-growth-1.691822
2. (2008). The Great Duopoly of UAE Telecoms. Retrieved from https://www.arabianbusiness.com/the-great-duopoly-of-uae-telecoms-45222.html

Resource URL: https://spotserve.ae/2019/01/13/market-saturation-telecommunication-industry-in-the-uae/

Salik Gates Increase All Over Dubai

Owning a car in Dubai is not as easy as it used to be and day by day it is becoming more expensive for people to own and maintain a car in Dubai. Apart from the steady increase in fuel prices and insurance rates, the government has also made using the Salik gates more expensive for the car owners in Dubai.

To reduce congestion of traffic on Sheikh Zayed Road, the RTA has implemented a plan in which it has de-linked Al-Barsha and Al-Safa Salik gates so that now those travelling form JLT to DIFC have to pay AED 8 every time they cross a gate whereas in the past, the travelers were charged only once. What this means is in the past, you only had to pay AED 4 when driving from JLT to DIFC but now the drivers have to pay DH 8 instead. The reason why RTA has chosen to increase the Salik is to re-distribute the traffic flow on the main roads as the Sheikh Zayed Road is an express traffic route and delinking the two Salik toll gates would reduce the traffic flow on the Sheikh Zayed Road with the drivers finding alternative routes to travel such as the Al Khail Road or the Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road to avoid paying the extra Salik.

While commuting back and forth from work if you pass through both the Salik gates then it means that your Salik costs have doubled. For instance, if you are passing from the Trade Center to the Dubai Marina, everyday you as a driver are paying an extra AED 8 in Salik and if you commute 5 days a week then it means that you are paying an extra AED 160 a month. However, for those who do not pass through both the Salik gates, the delinking will not make any difference to them whatsoever unless they want to take a faster commuting route; they would then then have to pay extra or go through much slower alternative routes.

For those who do not know about Salik – Salik is an automatic toll collection system in Dubai which started in 2007. Salik in Arabic means ‘clear,” ‘open’ and ‘moving’ and the Salik scheme currently has seven toll gates set up around Dubai. Salik is a cashless transaction and all the drivers require is a Salik Tag which together with the driver’s car is scanned by the RIFD or the Radio Frequency Identification Technology and each time a car passes through the Salik toll point, AED 4 is automatically deducted from the car’s Prepaid Salik toll account. The Salik has been designed by the RTA as a free flowing system i.e. due to the Salik toll gates the drivers do not have to stop their car anytime on the highway to pay Salik each time a car passes through the toll gates.

Initially before 2013, the Salik rules and regulations were quite laxed and a vehicle could only be charged a maximum of Dh24 per day and there weren’t any limits to how many times a vehicle could pass through the Salik gates in a day. However, after 2013 these rules and regulations were revised and now if a vehicle goes through 20 gates in day, it will be charged Dh4 per gate it passes through i.e. a whopping total of DH80 in a single day.

The vehicles that are exempted from being charged Salik include military vehicles, police cars, ambulances, school or college buses and RTA buses. The costs for setting up a Salik account are as follows;

-Salik Tag Costs – DH50

-One-Time Cost for the Salik Account – DH50

-Recharge Costs – from DH50 to DH50,000

-Delivery Costs of Salik Tag when it is purchased online – DH20

-Each Toll Gate charges – AED 4 (when vehicle passes through)

Another thing to keep in mind is that this year the RTA has clearly mentioned that VAT will not be applicable on the Salik gates or any other public transport facilities and services. Not only this but the commuters using public transport facilities like the buses, metro, tram, maritime transport facilities and the taxis will also not be charged any VAT at all.

The drivers also need to keep in mind the Salik violations so that they can avoid violating the law where possible. Let us look at what is considered to be some major Salik violations;

• Insufficient funds in the Prepaid Salik Account – this is an ISF (Insufficient Fund) violation and the penalty for this is DH50 if a driver drives through the Salik toll gate and doesn’t recharge his account within 5 working days. If during that time the driver passes through these gates, multiple times during the day he will still be charged a one-time violation fee of AED 50 each day for 5 consecutive days till he recharges his account i.e. if he recharges his account on the 3rd day then he would only have to pay DH150 in
• Unregistered Salik Tag/Plate – this is a URP (Unregistered Plate) violation and it occurs when a driver drives through a Salik gate without a registered Salik tag on his vehicle.  If the vehicle with unregistered tag passes the Salik gates again, another charge of 100 DHS. Not only that but if the driver still fails to buy and register a Salik tag after the first fine, he will be charged DH200 the second time and DH400 each time he drives through a Salik gate but, keeping in mind that the driver will be charged at a maximum of one violation per day irrespective of the number of times he passes through the gates per day.

The RTA has announced that the owners of electric cars can get their vehicles Salik tags registered for free as part of the government’s greener roads initiative. However, while the Salik tag is free on registration for electric car owners the trips through the Salik gates will still be charged and even the electric vehicles aren’t exempted from the Salik gate fee of AED 4.

Top up your Salik account anytime, anywhere with SpotServe mobile app. Get an exclusive invite to download SpotServe app today by subscribing to our website.

Sources:

1. Roberts, Rebecca. (2018). New Salik Gate on Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai. Retrieved from https://www.expatwoman.com/dubai/home-car/driving-in-dubai/new-salik-gate-on-sheikh-zayed-road-in-dubai
2. Kumar, Aroma. (2018). New Salik Gates to Begin Operation in October. Retrieved from http://www.dubaiweek.ae/news/41272/new-dubai-salik-gate-e11-begin-operation-october/
3. Tesorero, Angel. (2018). All you need to know about Salik in Dubai. Retrieved from https://www.khaleejtimes.com/news/transport//all-you-need-to-know-about-salik-in-dubai

Resource URL: https://spotserve.ae/2018/12/31/salik-gates-increase-all-over-dubai/

Things to do and Places to visit in Dubai on a Low Budget

I have been working in Dubai for over 2 years now but I never had the time to go around and visit the city thoroughly. I’ve always wanted to visit the UAE attractions since I came to Dubai; I had a few things in mind that I wanted to do as soon as I get to Dubai apart from looking for a job. Going on the desert safari, eating a fancy brunch, going on top of Burj Khalifa, visiting Atlantis, visiting the Zabeel park were just a few. However, when I finally landed in Dubai, I realized that Dubai is definitely a luxurious tourist attraction.  It can be very expensive and can be fairly over the budget a lot of the times.

Dubai has the reputation of being the rich man’s playground as people here define lavish lifestyles for the rest of the world. A lot of people are hesitant of coming to Dubai as they think that Dubai is too expensive. However, it depends on the tourists and people themselves can make it as expensive or as cheap as they want. I guess this applies to all other cities and countries as well. I so badly wanted to visit Atlantis and spend a night there as well as go At the Top-Burj Khalifa but since I was traveling on a budget, I decided to avoid them. Luckily, while I was in Dubai I found out that I could live and enjoy myself in Dubai for as low as a few dollars. There were days when I spent as low as $4 to $6 per day without breaking my wallet.

So what kind of a tourist are you? Dubai is an experience in itself and it has a lot of fun places for you to visit on a budget. Are you a nature lover or do you enjoy a cultural stroll or are you someone who loves beaches or water, in general, there is something for everyone in Dubai without wearing out your wallet! Listed below are a few things that you can do in Dubai while on a budget;

If you are the outdoorsy type them you should give Zabeel Park a try. Zabeel Park is one of the largest parks in Dubai and is located between Al-Karama and the World Trade Center. Zabeel Park offers many recreational activities such as housing a children’s amusement complex, a 3D cinema, and an edutainment center. There are many open spaces throughout the park as well as an adventure playground, boat rides, ice skating, children’s party and activity rooms, amphitheaters, covered areas for barbeques and picnics, jogging tracks, BMX track, techno zone and many more. The best part is that Wi-Fi connectivity is available throughout the park. The entry fee for this park is a mere Dh 5 per person.

Almost everyone I know who has traveled to Dubai has at one time or another experienced Dubai’s Desert Safari and yes it was definitely on my to-do list as well. Dubai Desert Safari packages vary in price though affordable options are also available and can start for as little as AED 100 including overnight camping, dune-bashing on 4WD jeeps, camel riding, quad biking safari, belly dancing and dinner under the stars. In short, while in Dubai, Desert Safari is one of the must things that you should definitely do and experience.

Dubai has many public beaches where tourists and the local residents can go to for free. JBR beach is an all-time favorite for the residents- if you want a good spot with plenty of sunshine be sure to get there before 4pm, especially during the weekends or else all the best spots would be gone. Another famous beach that you should visit is the Kite beach. This beach gets its name from the large number of kite-flyers who visit this beach frequently. It is also dotted with lots of small hip cafes and food trucks. This beach is one of the busiest beaches in Dubai, however if you want to avoid the crowds and simply chill then try the Al Sufouh beach, also known as the Black Palace beach. This place is little hard to find but once you are there, you can enjoy its peaceful waters, serenity and the beautiful view.

While I was job searching in Dubai, I had quite some time to search for cheap eateries and I came across the Al Karama neighborhood where the locals are mostly Indians. This neighborhood has a lot of cheap, pocket-friendly restaurants where I was able to enjoy different cuisines on a budget. Some things that I tried were Idli for breakfast which costs just AED 4, the breakfast platter costs around AED 15 and while being so delicious and filling, it is even a healthy breakfast choice. Lunch and dinner was an Indian Thali which was for about AED 17 and had 4 to 5 small portions of veg and non-veg curry, a portion of rice and a sweet dish. Chicken biryani costs around AED 24 and the one person serving is enough for two persons. However, if you are a person who loves Arabic food then do as the locals do and visit the 2nd of December Street for some budget-friendly food. Cuisines from all over the world are available here- chicken shawarmas from Al Mallah are just too amazing. Per person servings here costs approximately AED 15 and do not forget to bring cash as many cafes and stalls do not except card.

Then there’s Deira which is famous for its traditional souks such as the Deira Gold Souk and the Deira Spice Souk. It is packed with shoppers throughout the day. At Deira Spice Souk, you can simply roam around and enjoy the hustle. Furthermore, you should definitely visit Gold Souk, the largest gold market in the world, even if you don’t intend on buying anything.

Other places that you can visit while on a budget include the Jumeirah Mosque which is one of the largest and most beautiful mosques in Dubai, Etihad Museum where you can discover how UAE was formed, Dubai Water Canal which offers one of the best views of the city and the Dubai Fountain where you can enjoy the world’s tallest dancing water fountain at night. While Dubai does boast of an extravagant lifestyle, it still offers enough for the budget travellers.

Resources URL-  https://spotserve.ae/2019/01/24/things-to-do-and-places-to-visit-in-dubai-on-a-low-budget/