Surprise drop in broadband sign-ups

Many consumers are choosing mobile broadband over home connections.

Consumers in the UAE are embracing the age of mobile broadband - but perhaps a bit too quickly for local telecommunications companies to keep up.

As Etisalat and du continue a marketing drive aimed at home internet and landline consumers, the UAE telecoms regulator has reported a surprise drop in the number of broadband subscribers.

The total number of internet subscribers has been in decline since June as dial-up customers ditch their slower connections.

But in September the number of broadband subscribers shrank for the first time this year, with 761,901 registered by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), a 0.4 per cent decline from August.

Analysts and consumers say a possible explanation for the decline in the number of broadband users is that more people are surfing the web on their smartphones.

Eric Benedict, the managing director of the business advisory firm AlixPartners in Dubai, said the rise of mobile web surfing could be one of the major factors behind the slight decline in broadband subscribers.

"There is a global trend towards more surfing the internet on mobile," he said.

The UAE has long been one of the most active mobile phone markets, with the number of mobile lines in use hitting 10.8 million in September, up 0.9 per cent from the previous month, according to the TRA data. There are almost two mobile phones registered for every person in the country.

Irfan Ellam, a telecoms analyst with Al Mal Capital, agreed that the drop in broadband subscriptions could be "partly due to people using their mobile instead", although he cautioned against reading a trend in one month's data.

"When … cost comes down, then there comes a point where consumers don't care if it's [mobile] or fixed broadband," Mr Ellam said. "The next generation of mobile networks will offer mobile broadband speeds faster than those currently offered on fixed broadband."

Several consumers told The Nationalthey preferred surfing the web on their phones, rather than on their home computers.

Sabran al Qubaisi, 25, an Emirati who works for a private office, said he had three mobile phones but no landline or home internet subscription.

"I have everything I need on my cellphones. Landlines are now obsolete," he said. "My iPhone is currently my primary phone. It's not just my phone but my laptop at the same time."