To facilitate the growing demand for domestic high-speed Internet in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Emirates Internet and Multimedia (EIM) announced the availability of its Al-Shamil package over the country’s cable infrastructure to homes in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
Etisalat’s Internet Service Provision (ISP) business unit has taken the move to complement the existing high-speed Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) network, which delivers broadband to the home via the copper telephone infrastructure. The existing cable network, which primarily provides digital television to households, will be leveraged to complement DSL and ensure extensive broadband coverage to households.
Although the cable infrastructure is expanding throughout the country, only homes in Abu Dhabi and Dubai that currently have access to cable will be able to register to Al-Shamil cable at this time.
“We are at a critical stage in the roll-out of broadband Internet,” commented EIM General Manager Maroua Naim. “With over 19,000 subscribers already using the service, it is essential that the network infrastructure is in place for the next phase of growth. As higher bandwidth applications become available, from video streaming to online learning, we expect the mass market to gradually migrate to the Al-Shamil service.”
In terms of user experience and price, Al-Shamil over cable will be identical to the current Al-Shamil over DSL package. Customers are offered a range of ‘always on’ high-speed access options. Looking ahead, EIM is also testing a number of other technologies capable of delivering high-speed Internet access to the home.
EIM is the Internet service provider arm of Etisalat and was launched in March 2000. Today the UAE has more than one million users; placing the country in the top 20 most Internet wired countries in the world. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
