I had to cancel my subscription because LL sold house and we ended up moving to new area. Because we cancelled u der 6 months are penalty bill amounts to just under 2000 dhs. So I kind of agree with op.
Thank you all Ladies, I am grateful. Sometimes you just need a little reminder that in the big scheme of things I am certainly better off here than in the UK...................on so many fronts :-)
All of you have made valid points, and my figures, just for clarity, came from www,uswitch.com
Cheers
Ali x
Why, seriously, why is it so expensive here??? Am I missing something??
Saltire has it - the same reason so many other things here are so expensive, a simple lack of competition. Bear in mind that although we pay ripoff prices for things like broadband (because we are a captive market that is assiduously milked), the situation here is actually a lot better here than it was 4-5 years ago, when you'd pay Sahm (the forerunner of Du) about £100 per month just for a 1Mb broadband connection, never mind TV and phone.
Possibly prices will reach closer parity with proper competitive markets as it becomes possible for everyone to pick and choose who they get their various different telecoms/TV services from, rather than being locked into either Du or Etisalat.
Here in Dubai I pay AED743 or 123GBP per month for OSN with sport/broadband/landline, calls are extra.
For the same kind of package in the UK I am paying 19.50GBP for a very similar service.
Why, seriously, why is it so expensive here??? Am I missing something??
BT charge 13.00 quid for the line, not sure about cable, so I think you may have your figures wrong!!!! I used to use AOL for internet, the cost as I remember was about 14.00 a month, Sky for total package was 34.00. Where do you get the 19.50 figure??? be good to know. Lets be real here, UK are a total rip off too, wages dont really compare.
lol - there are other companies apart from BT! I get my phone and broadband from Talk Talk for £18.75/ month. Telly is Freeview... sorted!
Council tax in the UK is £130/month (3 bed), Housing Ta- [i'>Fee[/i'> is 450 here on a 2 bed. I can't really compare utilities because we've got a 3 bed semi (aka a "villa") and a 2 bed apartment here... saying that, our gas/ elec water comes to about £100/month and if what other villa-people say is true for their 2000aed+ DEWA bills, I know which I'd rather have.
Thank goodness salaries are better here - else I would have told any LL wanting £25k/year in rent where to go and wouldn't have to fork out £10k in nursery fees which only operate mornings and term-time!
Still, as I said, it'd drive you wild to constantly convert and compare, so I try not to!
Just made a quick comparison in utility bills / council tax, UK was around 3400 pounds per year, here 1800.00. We may think its expensive here, Im not so sure. Salaries are much higher to a degree in Dubai than back home ( UK ) that is. We can moan and moan it wont change anything, lets grin and bare it, or not be here.
Here in Dubai I pay AED743 or 123GBP per month for OSN with sport/broadband/landline, calls are extra.
For the same kind of package in the UK I am paying 19.50GBP for a very similar service.
Why, seriously, why is it so expensive here??? Am I missing something??
BT charge 13.00 quid for the line, not sure about cable, so I think you may have your figures wrong!!!! I used to use AOL for internet, the cost as I remember was about 14.00 a month, Sky for total package was 34.00. Where do you get the 19.50 figure??? be good to know. Lets be real here, UK are a total rip off too, wages dont really compare.
I think a key explanation for the difference is population size - the potential customer pool is the UK is vastly bigger than the UAE but similar operating costs for both TV suppliers.... It's all about margins.
It is probably the sports channels that is stopping us from getting a slingbox. How many different subscriptions does one need just to watch some sport, (not me of course, DH and DS). :D
if I had my way I wouldn't bother with any. :D
LOL !! we don't watch telly much - mainly for the kids channels really.. thank g0d my husband isn't into football etc so we don't need sports packages... my father pays over £60 in the uk just for his tv..
not strictly speaking extortion. Be careful how you say things.
You always have the choice not to take the package if you don't think it's worth it. We don't take the telly part and only pay about 250aed for the phone and broadband, which is still expensive by UK standards, but so are half the things in Dubai. For your sanity, it'd be best to just stop doing the conversion and comparison... I mean that in the nicest possible way because you will honestly drive yourself wild otherwise.
<em>edited by Hello.Again.Kitty on 25/07/2011</em>
Here in Dubai I pay AED743 or 123GBP per month for OSN with sport/broadband/landline, calls are extra.
For the same kind of package in the UK I am paying 19.50GBP for a very similar service.
Why, seriously, why is it so expensive here??? Am I missing something??
Quite simply, a lack of competition. :)
Here in Dubai I pay AED743 or 123GBP per month for OSN with sport/broadband/landline, calls are extra.
For the same kind of package in the UK I am paying 19.50GBP for a very similar service.
Why, seriously, why is it so expensive here??? Am I missing something??