New du TV service launches telco clash
Du has announced the availability of limited home internet and TV packages across the UAE, marking the beginning of full competition in the country’s telecoms space 11 years after the second operator first launched services.
The extension of du’s Home Plan to customers outside the operator’s traditional footprint of Dubai means UAE customers will for the first time be able to choose from which operator to receive “triple play” services, which encompass fixed line, broadband and TV.
“We are offering a new level of flexibility for customers to tailor their packages and selected TV channels in efforts to enhance the home experience across the UAE and meet the growing demand of tailored and customised TV and video content,” said Fahad Al Hassawi, deputy chief executive officer of telco services at du’s holding company EITC.
Du’s TV services outside Dubai will be delivered via streaming services du View and OSN’s Wavo streaming platform, as opposed to Du’s traditional IPTV offering.
Content available includes OSN’s Sports and Movies suite, together with local UAE channels.
“We know the way people consume content and TV today is different to what it was,” said Mr Al Hassawi.
“We want to provide customers with real choice and a true alternative and the possibility to own their unique viewing experience.”
The operator clarified that less than 300 channels will be initially available via the streaming services, compared with over 600 channels available via its traditional IPTV offering in Dubai.
Competition between du and Etisalat in fixed and broadband services commenced in 2015, after the UAE’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority allowed the operators to “bitstream” on each other’s fixed telecoms networks. But few customers have taken advantage of the ability to switch broadband and landline packages, as monopolies have remained in place for TV services.
The TRA has yet to permit operators to bitstream IPTV services, which require the use of far greater bandwidth.
The resultant lack of competition has ensured that broadband prices in the UAE remain high; a survey by UK-based website Cable.co.uk found that the country has the 11th most expensive broadband services in the world, and the highest in the Middle East.
Etisalat did not respond to questions about whether it plans to launch similar TV service offerings in du’s home territory of Dubai.