Apparently, both private users and businesses are becoming increasingly dismayed at the service provided by ETISALAT.  Until the monopoly is destroyed Internet diffusion will be hindered. It is imperative that the market is liberalized to allow for competition in pricing and services. 

Background:
On 5 March 2000, ETISILAT launched Emirates Internet and Multimedia (EIM) which provides a dedicated Internet service to the United Arab Emirates. The introduction of EIM is supposed to  facilitate access speeds.  Furthermore, the introduction of EIM is supposed to enable subscribers to increase download times over the ASDL platform. 

There are three international links to the Internet all of which are  located in Abu Dhabi.  The domestic IP backbone runs over the national fiber optic network   It has been noted that there are 150,000 Internet accounts, with over 500,000 users. 

Both Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Explorer can be configured to use the proxy service started by ETISALAT.   Arab Vista, an Arabic language portal and search engine that supports both Arabic and English, was launched in 2000.  This new service will increase the potential user base of the Internet in the UAE. 

Internet Usage:
The following charts reveal the estimated number of Internet users worldwide, as well as Internet users in the Gulf States. 
 

*Human Rights Watch
Although the Middle East comprises only about 3 percent of Internet usage worldwide the UAE has a proportionally high percentage of Internet users.  The Internet is widely used in the UAE by all facets of society: individuals, schools, businesses, and the government.   ETISALAT claims that average monthly usage is 1.6 million hours for over 500,000 people.   Furthermore, ETISALAT revealed that average usage per user is 72 hours a month.   Almost 20 percent of the population has access to the Internet. 

Estimates break down the number of users in the UAE as private users (40 percent), schools and other educational facilities (20 percent), businesses (30 percent), and government (10 percent).  Due to the heavy emphasis the government places on using information technology users of the Internet will become more sophisticated.  The number of users will most likely continue to increase especially with the introduction of Arab Vista, the Arabic search engine, as well as other Arabic software programs.  For further information on the segments of the population who actively use the Internet and information technology in general please refer to IT Users.

Pricing:
Currently, no competition exists for Internet Service Providers and ETISALAT is the sole provider.   Therefore, prices for service are considerably higher than in many regions of the world, including the United States.  It is approximately $23.00 per month for the first ten hours of service and an additional $1.77 for each additional hour.  Considering the estimated average user time on the Internet per month, per person is 72 hours it very expensive.  This averages out to $132.00 per month, on average. Until an additional ISP is allowed to operate in the market, prices will most likely remain artificially inflated.  It is highly possible that substantial increases in Internet usage would occur if costs were reduced. 

Two (unnamed) ISPs have applied for membership in Dubai Internet City.  If the applications are accepted they will only be allowed to operate within the confines of Dubai Internet City.  Rumors suggest that ETISALAT will coordinate with the ISPs to maintain equivalent pricing if they are accepted (9).