The telecommunications company du announced the launch of a high definition television (HDTV) service Wednesday, offering new viewing options for customers living in areas of Dubai where it holds a pay-TV monopoly.
Etisalat launched an HDTV service last week through its E-Vision subsidiary.
Etisalat's announcement was followed by a number of regional broadcasters, including Showtime, Orbit and the Abu Dhabi Media Company (ADMC), publisher of The National, unveiling plans to make their own high-definition channels available to customers throughout the region.
The du HDTV service is part of its new television package, which also includes options such as a digital video recorder and the ability to pause and rewind television shows.
The system uses software from Microsoft for its user interface. Microsoft, best known for its personal computer operating system and office software, began making applications for television set-top boxes in 2007. Its software is popular among telecoms delivering pay-TV over cable, and is in use by AT&T in the US, BT in the UK and SingTel in Singapore.
Du has a monopoly on fixed-line telecommunications, pay-TV and internet access in areas of the "new Dubai" such as Dubai Media City, Dubai Marina and the Jumeirah Beach Residence.
Each area is served by a fibre-optic cable network that was built and operated by the telecommunications wing of Tecom, the Dubai-based master developer. Tecom Telecommunications was acquired by du in late 2005.
Boosting revenues from services such as television and the internet is one way that du hopes to keep profits growing as mobile subscriber growth slows.
Unlike most regional operators, the company has no exposure to growth markets outside the UAE, where it has won a 30 per cent share of the mobile market largely through targeting price-sensitive customers.
tgara@thenational.ae
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Details
Through Her Lens: The stories behind the photography of Eva Sereny
Forewords by Jacqueline Bisset and Charlotte Rampling, ACC Art Books
DUBAI WORLD CUP CARNIVAL CARD
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The National selections
6.30pm: Gifts Of Gold
7.05pm Final Song
7.40pm Equilateral
8.15pm Dark Of Night
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Price, base / as tested: Dh283,080 / Dh318,465
Engine: 2.0-litre inline four-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 295hp @ 5,500rpm
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Fuel economy, combined: 7.2L / 100km