Free Wi-Fi in 10,000 more Dubai taxis will further cement its smart city reputation

About 10,000 more taxis in Dubai are to be equipped with free Wi-Fi, it was announced at Gitex Technology Week yesterday.

Anthony Shiner, chief digital lifestyle and innovation officer at du, said the move was the result of a partnership between the telecoms company and Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority. He said the scheme would be introduced in phases.

“You can’t launch all 10,000 cars with Wi-Fi overnight,” Mr Shiner said.

“You have to learn how different people are using the service. If you’re travelling from the airport to your hotel, for example, you will probably want to use the Wi-Fi for checking your emails and messages.”

Details about the project’s introduction are yet to be announced.

Access to free Wi-Fi in the city’s taxis will further cement Dubai’s status as a leading smart city, Mr Shiner said, but did not disclose the cost of the project.

“We will not be rolling it all out overnight but we will be doing it fairly soon,” Mr Shiner said.

“If you want to be acknowledged as a global leader then you have to be at the forefront of leading technology and innovation.

“There are many markets that have fallen into the trap of offering a free Wi-Fi service, the reality of which is that the experience is poor for consumers. If the infrastructure is not right then it loses all of its value.

“We also had to ask ourselves, ‘Is offering free Wi-Fi something that is a nice add-on or is it an essential service?’,” he said.

“We don’t want to provide people with an intermittent service that keeps cutting out. We wanted to make sure we got it right before rolling it out.”

In 2016, the transport authority announced a similar deal with du, which led to 500 taxis at Dubai International Airport being fitted with free internet.

Telecom company du and Dubai’s RTA have jointly introduced the scheme, which will be implemented in phases