coming from uk for 1st time!

[Diana99]

Hi all,
a few quick questions


do uk mobile phones work in dubia or should i buy a new one there?

also what is the cheapest way to call home? calling cards etc?

how much dpes it cost to text the uk?

what is the dialing code etc

does anyone use skype over there?
is it banned?

any info greatly apprecitaed!

be there in a week - yikes!
xx

[Pasanada]

Originally Posted by Diana99

Hi all,
a few quick questions


do uk mobile phones work in dubia or should i buy a new one there?

also what is the cheapest way to call home? calling cards etc?

how much dpes it cost to text the uk?

what is the dialing code etc

does anyone use skype over there?
is it banned?

any info greatly apprecitaed!

be there in a week - yikes!
xx

Can't answer your mobile phone or UK call costs, check with your provider.

The dialing code for the UAE is +971, for the UK +44 (you didn't state which country code you required)

If you're bringing a laptop (or desktop if moving over), ensure you have Skype installed as it's banned in the UAE and you won't be able to visit the Skype website (unless, like me, you use an outlet that has wifi access, this is how I downloaded Skype onto my laptop)

Have a great trip over!

[Maz25]

Originally Posted by Diana99

Hi all,
a few quick questions


do uk mobile phones work in dubia or should i buy a new one there?

also what is the cheapest way to call home? calling cards etc?

how much dpes it cost to text the uk?

what is the dialing code etc

does anyone use skype over there?
is it banned?

any info greatly apprecitaed!

be there in a week - yikes!
xx

Most UK mobile phones will work in Dubai, provided that the phone is unlocked. I would personally recommend that you ditch the sim card and just get a new one when you arrive, else you risk succumbing to a heart attack when you see the bill!

Du & Etisalat publish their call rates on their website. Just access their website for up-to-date charges. There are deals as well in regards to using your home phone to make international calls. I personally would just shop around for a good deal when I get to Dubai. If you are working with other UK expats, it might be worthwhile asking them how they make their calls and the cost.

[Elphaba]

Originally Posted by Maz25

Most UK mobile phones will work in Dubai, provided that the phone is unlocked. I would personally recommend that you ditch the sim card and just get a new one when you arrive, else you risk succumbing to a heart attack when you see the bill!

Du & Etisalat publish their call rates on their website. Just access their website for up-to-date charges. There are deals as well in regards to using your home phone to make international calls. I personally would just shop around for a good deal when I get to Dubai. If you are working with other UK expats, it might be worthwhile asking them how they make their calls and the cost.

Correction - UK mobiles will work in the UAE if you have international roaming. Unlocking referr to being able to use other telecom providers' SIM cards in a handset linked to another provider. Most mobile phones purchased in the Uk are locked - that is they will only work with Orange, BT or whichever company you have a contract with.


Get yourself a UAE SIm card ASAP and either get your phone unlocked or buy a new handset here (not expensive). DU is slightly cheaper for calls, but has poorer coverage than Etisalat. Until you get residency you can only get a pay as you go SIM, but top up cards are easily available.

-

[Maz25]

Originally Posted by Elphaba

Correction - UK mobiles will work in the UAE if you have international roaming. Unlocking referr to being able to use other telecom providers' SIM cards in a handset linked to another provider. Most mobile phones purchased in the Uk are locked - that is they will only work with Orange, BT or whichever company you have a contract with.


Get yourself a UAE SIm card ASAP and either get your phone unlocked or buy a new handset here (not expensive). DU is slightly cheaper for calls, but has poorer coverage than Etisalat. Until you get residency you can only get a pay as you go SIM, but top up cards are easily available.

-

My phone is unlocked so I'm not really going to have a problem. Most phones (except for newly-released phones) that are locked can be unlocked in less than 5 mins for £5-10. Most providers will also provide the code to unlock the phone at a higher cost. I think the last time I aksed I got quoted £25! Might be more now cause that price dates back to 2004 and was for T-Mobile! You would need to be out of contract though to get the code from your network provider. If you got your phone from the Carphone warehouse or Phones4U or ordered it online from an independent retailer, it will in all likelihood be unlocked! Just get another provider's sim card and put it in the phone to check whether it's unlocked - if it works, then the phone is unlocked!

Most contract phones have international roaming on them now! I've always had them without even having to ask! The call charges are easy money for the network providers. Last time I checked, it was going to cost me £1.50/minute just to receive a call when I travelled home! Call charges have gone down slightly but the new rates only apply if you are travelling in the EU, else the montrous charges still apply!

I will probably get a pay as you go sim with the same provider that my employer uses. Pay monthly is not really worth it now - going to be making mainly internatonal calls and provided that Skype works, that might be the cheaper option. Out of curiosity, do pay monthly contracts come with free minutes like in the UK?

Thanks for the advice though.

[crazymazy1980]

Definitely get a local SIM card!!

One also to be aware of is that all your calls may not get charged to that billing period's bill. I was stung with this recently when it turns out sometimes it can take up to 6 months for the billing data to 'catch up' (not sure from where ). Thought I was just keeping under my £200 per month limit that I'd set my self and then came back to the UK to see that my latest bill was £807 (That's exactly what I looked like)

Luckily I have a sister who complains for England and she said I should write to them about it (it's the price of recorded delivery and 1/2 hr of my time) - turns out she was right and I got a £400 refund - softened the blow a bit anyway.

I've been doing research into the whole Skype thing (as it does seem to be the cheapest way to call back) and just being able to watch BBC iPlayer etc to keep up with UK TV (Eastenders, Corrie et al) and you can use what is known as a Virtual Private Network (VPN) service which does 2 useful things

1. Encrypts your net traffic so not even your ISP can see what you're looking at so you can go on sites the UAE may deem prohibited.

2. Gives you a front end UK/US IP address so websites like the BBC think you're in the UK (won't let you use iPlayer otherwise)

VPN Service, Unblock Skype :: Blacklogic paid VPN accounts, UAE, Dubai, Anonymous Surfing is an example of one and the website offers a much more detailed explanation than I could give.

HTH

[Diana99]

thanks 4 all ur replies!!!

i shall get a uae sim when i get there


i have downloaded skype already so is the vpn still necessary?
do all the vpn sites charge?
if i decide to download vpn in dubai is that possible?

thanks again!!!

[crazymazy1980]

Originally Posted by Diana99

thanks 4 all ur replies!!!

i shall get a uae sim when i get there


i have downloaded skype already so is the vpn still necessary?
do all the vpn sites charge?
if i decide to download vpn in dubai is that possible?

thanks again!!!

You don't need to download VPN it's just some settings that you add to XP/Vista that the website provides. if they block the site for any reason you could always ask a family member to do it by proxy.

I don't know if the UAE blocks VOIP packets (if at all) or if they only block access to the Skype website so if you have it already then it shouldn't be a problem. If it stops working then signing up to a VPN may be the only option.

I think all the VPN sites charge. It's because you're going through their servers and thus using up bandwidth. if they don't charge the connection will usually be dire at best - you get what you pay for I'm afraid. Plus it means you can access UK internet TV sites too as I've heard UAE TV is not so hot!

If it's within a small circle of friends or just to talk to partner, parents etc you can get little chat applets or use yahoo/msn messenger to talk to people. They are used by online gamers to hurl abuse at each other during call of duty etc but have probably escaped the attention of the UAE ISPs as they aren't a fully viable VOIP solution. You just ring them on the normal phone and then get them to go online and talk there.

If you want to call regular phones then it will probably have to be something like Skype/Vonage.

HTH

[Pasanada]

Skype will work if you already have the programme on your computer. I didn't as my laptop was purchased in Dubai so my way around that was to nip into the local burger bar (at the time, I lived in International City) and use the free wifi which wasn't being run by Du or Etisalat. I never had problems and was able to make/receive calls on Skype.

HTH

[JimAtJaxtr]

Hi Diana99. That's a pretty exciting move you're making. I work for jaxtr, and we have a phone service that uses voip. But you don't have to be at a computer or download anything to use it. It might be helpful for you. Let me know what you end of using and how things work out.