DUBAI : Telecommunications competition in the UAE has entered a new phase as du announced on Wednesday a prepaid fixed-line telephone service that charges as little as 60 fils per minute for off-peak international calls, close on the heels of huge "super-off-peak" discounts announced by etisalat earlier.
Du's Homephone Recharge service offers calls as low as 1 fils per second from any home landline from 9pm to 9am daily; 3 fils per second from 9am to 9pm and 1.5 fils per second on Fridays from 9am to 9pm.
The prepaid service offers a ‘One-world-one-rate' tariff and works on any home landline in the UAE - including etisalat's. The recharge cards are available in denominations of Dh20, Dh50, Dh100, Dh200 and Dh500 from any du shop, kiosk or du dealer.
Etisalat, meanwhile, has also unveiled lower call tariffs through a special Dh15 e-voucher that charges only Dh1.29 per minute for all-day calls to the Indian subcontinent for prepaid (Wasel) mobile subscribers.
The rate is 31 per cent lower than the Dh1.89 it currently charges for off-peak calls to India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Charges for etisalat's "super-off-peak" calls to these countries had already been reduced to Dh0.76 per minute, which applies from 11pm-7am daily.
The new super-off-peak calls of Dh0.76 per minute apply to Wasel, post-paid and fixed-line calls to the three South Asian countries, as well as Sri Lanka and Iran. Etisalat has reduced super-off-peak call rates to the Philippines/USA at Dh0.55 from an off-peak (2pm to 4pm; 9pm to 11pm) rate of Dh1.37 and a peak rate of Dh2.12.
Both the super-off-peak and e-voucher offers are here to stay.
Activate now
To activate du's Homephone Recharge prepaid service, subscribers should call 800 135 from any home landline.
Upon activation, subscribers will immediately get Dh5 instant free credit, enabling them to start calling right away. To make calls, subscribers need to dial the prefix 08888 before the number they wish to call. Du customers simply need to dial * (star) in place of 08888.
