The UAE has one of the costliest internet and telephone service in the world despite a series of charges cuts over the past few years, with its broadband fees exceeding those in Europe by a whopping $1700 a month. “Telecommunications services in the UAE are far costlier than those in Europe,” the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) said in a report published Thursday by the UAE Arabic language daily Emirat Alyoum. “There is a big price gap between the UAE and Europe especially in high-speed broadband services, which could reach $1700 a month.” Internet charges in the UAE are also the highest in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) while the country offers one of the cheapest mobile phone services in the GCC and other Arab nations. Another report by the Cairo-based Arab Regulators Network (AREGNET), which groups 15 government telecom regulators in the region, found that fixed-line telephone services for business purposes in the UAE are “very costly”. The report noted that the UAE is among only four Arab countries that operate high-speed broadband services.
