Landline phone

[gnomes]

Landline is generally cheaper for calling abroad, so may be worth it for you. Skype out is the best but call quality is very poor as du and Etisalat insert jitters in their network. From the UK calling UAE I found bestminutes.com was very good. Illegal phone cards are availble here in the market but I havent found any yet. Also dont go for visitor or ahlan, just go for a simple prepay sim card and i would recommend you go with Etisalat.

[Maz25]

I use Skype to call my friends and the call quality is very good. When you first arrive, you will only be able to get an Ahlan sim card until you get your residency visa!

[gnomes]

Maz25,thats not true, I got mine by just giving them copy of passport and entry stamp

[crazymazy1980]

Originally Posted by gnomes

Maz25,thats not true, I got mine by just giving them copy of passport and entry stamp

She's always giving duff info

I think they will only give you an ahlan sim if you don't have a passport at all as a form of ID, that's what happened to me.

I would go against the above advice about Ahlan cards and would get one as well as a normal sim. When you get here you will be ringing up people to arrange to view apartments, talk to letting agents, and hire car companies. Best they have a temporary number than you be bombarded with sales calls for the rest of your time here.

[gnomes]

Thats 1 thing you dont have to worry about here. You wont get bombarded with any sales calls. Its the other way round here, if you want something YOU have to chase people even though you may be a client. Never expect them to call you back.

[sara81]

From everything I have read here, I understand that as long as you have skype downloaded on your laptop before you get to Dubai, it will work fine. So I have it downloaded but will I still be able to add credit for skype out while I am in Dubai? Or should I just add a whole load to it now in case I cant access the credit page?

[flossie]

Originally Posted by sara81

From everything I have read here, I understand that as long as you have skype downloaded on your laptop before you get to Dubai, it will work fine. So I have it downloaded but will I still be able to add credit for skype out while I am in Dubai? Or should I just add a whole load to it now in case I cant access the credit page?

You will only be able to use Skype computer to computer, not to ring a phone. It's another Dubai money making exercise.

[sara81]

oh no so how does crazy mazy do it?

[flossie]

Originally Posted by sara81

oh no so how does crazy mazy do it?

Don't know. He must know something I don't?? Maybe he will share?

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayA...ae_june104.xml

[Maz25]

Originally Posted by gnomes

Maz25,thats not true, I got mine by just giving them copy of passport and entry stamp

You must be a lucky person then as everyone I know got asked for a copy of their residence visa before they could apply for a prepaid or monthly SIM card! It makes sense really as no mobile phone company wants a visitor to take out a monthly contract and then do a runner at the end of their holidays, without paying the bills. Not sure about the logic behind the rules for the prepaid account but then again, that's Dubai! I'm due to get another SIM card (upgrade my current visitor's SIM), so will post again when I have managed to do it and let everyone know what documentation you need!

Ahlan is like the prepaid SIM - the only difference is that it's only valid for 3 months unless you choose to convert it to a prepaid or post paid account after your initial 3 months is up!