Dubai: "If I don't have my internet, I don't have anything."
Pursuing her law degree through an online programme and mostly working online makes Kellie Drayton, a 28-year-old Dubai resident, depend on the internet for her career.
Unfortunately, she has a few complaints.
"There is just too much downtime because of accidents like cable damage."
And while she understood that repairing underwater cables required time, she said that disruptions for too long were not justified.
Talking about the number of products and services available in the UAE, Drayton said: "It does not matter how many services you provide. Even if you provide me with one service and do it well, I won't complain."
However, Gulf News readers were generally happy with the quality of telecommunications services, including call clarity and internet speed.
More options
Olesya Kozlova, a Russian mortgage supervisor, felt that customers needed more options in case they were unhappy with the services of a company.
"I often try to call people and they are out of reach, even when they are in the network area. The internet too causes a lot of problems," the 28 year old said. However, she was unable to switch companies, as her area of residence was covered by only one service provider.
She felt that services in eastern Europe were better and cheaper and felt that more service providers in the UAE would automatically translate into better service quality.
However, for 44-year-old executive chef, Melquiades Masalunga, having only two main service providers was not a problem.
"Back in the Philippines, we have many telecommunication providers. But the competition does not help in giving people better services. The internet speed in the UAE, compared to the Philippines, is much better and the technical support is also good," he said.
In the 13 years he has lived in the UAE, Masalunga said that telephone and internet services were above expectations.
Kiran Fernandes, a Dubai-based engineer, agreed but felt that the prices needed to be revised.
"The prices are quite high compared to international standards. They could do something to make services more affordable," the 31-year-old Indian said.
He compared the prices in the UAE to those in his home country, where more providers meant cheaper options, as well as more products.
"In India, you get USB internet modems, which are quite affordable. Also, one can use Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services, which are not available here," he said.
But Fernandes highlighted some advantages UAE services had over those in India.
"Landline to landline calls [within the emirate] are free, which is good. The connectivity and network is also good. I use the internet extensively to make payments for various services, which is difficult in India as the network strength varies based on the service provider."
