Internet/phones in Sharjah

[OfftoSharjah]

I All,
We've recently been given a couple of jobs teaching in Sharjah and we will be moving to Sharjah in August. We've been trying to weigh up the cost of living that we'll need to budget for when there. Can anyone offer any helpful advice/recommendations as to which companies to go with and how much we'd been expected to fork out and what the service/reception and access is like. we're moving there with our two children, 3 and 1 yos. Any other advice would be greatly appreciated.

[amaksoud]

If you are asking about which companies to subscribe for internet & phone services I'd recommend Etisalat for better coverage for both home and GSM networks.

Prices will vary according the required speed, I'm subscribed to package called e-life in which you have either double play sub package that includes land line phone and 8Mbps internet access, or you can opt in for triple play which will give you cable TV more than the double play package.

Double play costs you around 290 or 249 per month ( I'm not sure ) and the triple play costs around 350 a month.

For cell phones coverage whether data or voice, Etisalat is much better on both as I have tried both companies in different areas around UAE.

for more info visit the following
Welcome to Etisalat & du | Emirates Integrated Telecommunication Company

These are the tow ISPs available here.

[OfftoSharjah]

Thank you.

Checked both sites. Gave a good idea of what to look for when we get there.

[Jynxgirl]

Where you live, will decide if you have du or etisilat. It looks like two companies, but... You can not pick etisilat if you live in a building/area serviced by du, or vice versa.

They say etisilat is better for cell service but havent noticed much of a difference. At my work out by mafraq, for some reason those with etisilat have had blacked out periods (like weeks, not days) when du didnt. They couldnt explain why. But in general, they work about the same imo. Packages are different by a hair. It was like they didnt want people to think really was just the same company but making it look like wasnt a monopoly... so tweaked it just enough.

[newguyintown]

I haven't noticed any difference either in cell service of du and etiasalat. The only differences between du and etisalat are:
- du's internet filtering is little more relaxed than etisalat. Some websites which were blocked by etisalat were accessible on du; and
- du charges by the second whereas etisalat charges by the minute. Not sure if that really saves you a lot of money.

[OfftoSharjah]

Thank you both for the insight and your experiences. Any other helpful hints/advice and things to look for regarding Sharjah and UAE in general would be greatly appreciated.

Btw newguyintown... In the long term there is a huge saving from per second charge as long as there is no flagfal rate or connection fee for each call.

[newguyintown]

Not really sure, that varies highly based on an individual's usage pattern. We've had similar plans back home and some studies showed that such plans didn't really offer any benefits or difference for users who have an average of above average usage.

Umm, there are other formalities which you'll need to complete once you are here. Listing what I can think off the top of my head here (I recently moved here and listing what all i did):

1. Getting the Residency Visa (Getting it stamped on your passport) -
2. Medical Test
3. Getting a Emirates ID (Company's PRO should help you with that)
4. Labour ID (This would be done by the Company)
5. Getting the Health Insurance Card (Again would be done by Company)
6. Alcohol License (Illegal to buy alcohol without having an alcohol license)

[Jynxgirl]

Illegal to have alcohol in sharjah I thought, so do they issue alcohol licenses?

[ChloeB1984]

Hi,

Yes you can get an alcohol license in Sharjah - the process is a bit long-winded from what I can gather though!

OfftoSharjah - I've been living in Sharjah for 18 months, if you have any other questions then give me a shout!

[OfftoSharjah]

Hi ChloeB,

Thank you for the offer, I'm sure I will be calling on you for advice in the near future, we're just starting to get our docs in order and it already seems a daunting task.
We're both teaching at the same school and we'll be living off al khan street between the 1st and 2nd lagoon. Seen it on google earth and tried reviews to find out about the area, are you near there? If so... What's it like? (I'll probably hit you with other similar silly questions as they come to me- I apologise in advance)😄😃
What industry are you in? Where a outs are you staying? Which country have you come out from (told you there'd be silly).
Hope to read from you soon.