Mobile Phone Purchasing Plan

Dubai Women's College

We have arranged a plan for new faculty and staff arriving in the UAE who might wish to purchase a mobile phone to be ready when they arrive. We would arrange the purchase of the phone, the activation, and an initial pre-payment of service  ahead of the arrival date and have the phone on -hand on the day of arrival. You will repay the college upon opening your bank account in the UAE.


"Why would I want to have a mobile phone when I arrive?"

Arriving here and getting set up is a challenging (but exciting!) process. You are in a new city where
English is not the first language of most citizens. Taxi drivers may or may not speak much English, or
know the name of the building where you live. Oh, by the way, there are no street addresses as
such - you live in an area near landmarks. For example, you might say "I live in Karama, in the
building with blue balconies across from Mustafa Mohamed grocery". Now what do you do if your
taxi can't find it?

The answer: Use your mobile phone. 

Here is a list of reasons why a mobile phone is a good idea for new arrivals:

#Your phone will be pre-programmed with important phone numbers - key people at Dubai Women's College, your  flat's /villa's doorman/security person, commonly used stores and shopping malls, emergency numbers, and of course,  the phone number to call a taxi! It will be ready for you the day you arrive. Charged, programmed and ready to go. 

#You will probably have several, or many, deliveries to your flat or villa in the first couple of weeks - furniture,  appliances, curtains, carpets, your container, etc. You will not be able to get a telephone for your flat or villa for 2-3  weeks. A mobile phone is the only method for the delivery companies to get a hold of you if you are at your flat  waiting for a delivery. Drawing them a map is a useless proposition. They will insist that they will call you immediately  before coming to get directions. Tell them you don't have a phone and watch the consternation in their faces!

#As noted, your mobile phone will be your only home phone for 2-3 weeks, until you receive your residence visa and  Etisalat (the phone company) shows up to hook you up. 

#Family and friends "back home" can keep in touch during the settling-in period.

#Need to get a hold of someone urgently at the college or elsewhere? Mobile phone. We need to get a hold of you?  Mobile phone.

#The mobile phone will become a useful tool for your spouse and/or children when living in Dubai, even if you don't need it after the first few weeks.

#You can always sell it later if you don't want to keep it. There is a good resale market for mobile phones here. 

"OK. I'm interested. So what will it cost?"

As you do not have your residency visa when you arrive, you cannot get your own GSM card and be billed on a monthly basis. Instead, however, you can buy a special card to activate your phone. This card is payable on an annual basis and is a sort of "number rental fee". You can switch to a GSM card after you get your residency or after the first year is up. Your choice. To use the phone, you simply prepay amounts for the phone, such as purchasing Dhs 25, 40 amounts, and your calls will deduct from what is left each time you use the phone.

It will give you a number that people from home will be able to ring you on. Even if you have to ring them first briefly to give them the number, as ringing them from the phone will quickly run out your prepaid card amount.

Here an example cost to get started with your phone (your choice of phone model will cause the total to vary):

These change regularly but are here to give you an idea, also if you want to change after you get here a post paid line will cost you DHS 100 / quarter plus calls

Choosing your phone if you wish to proceed with this offer:

On the order form page please find a check list with the two different phones you can buy. 

1.Clearly check off which phone model you want. Regarding different models: To see or get a feel for different models, view them at a retailer in your home country or get more information on the models from the web sites of the different manufacturers. 
2.Please total up the cost of the phone and services. 
3.Choose a payment method 
4.Fax, scan and e-mail the checklist, or mail it to us. If you wish to order over the internet, just press the "submit" button.
Please note that in order for us to purchase and prepare your phone, we need to receive your order at least 10 days before you arrive. If you know now that you wish to proceed with this offer, please send the order form right away. 

"So, how does this work? Do I have to send you money now?"

No. You can pay when you arrive. We will either deduct the amount from the cash amount you receive upon arrival, if there is enough, or you can reimburse us after cashing your furniture/relocation allowance check (which you normally receive the day after arrival). Please note that we can only proceed with firm commitments for phones. As we are doing this as a convenience to new faculty and staff, and as we are not retailers of phones, this offer is non-cancellable and non-refundable once you agree to it.

Other questions you might have:

1."Isn't a mobile phone a luxury? I mean, I haven't owned one yet and I have done alright." Answer: In the UAE, a mobile phone is not a luxury. It is an EXTREMELY useful tool for getting things done, however. Is it necessary? No, not necessary. You will have access to a phone at work and you will get a home phone after a while. And for faculty staying at a hotel for the first 6 nights after their arrival: You will, of course, have a phone in your hotel room (for which you will have to pay usage charges, however).

2."Can I use my American mobile phone instead (ie. Bring it along and use it in the UAE?)". Generally the answer is no. The UAE is on a different band than the U.S., Canada and Europe. Check carefully with your retailer or the manufacturer if you believe you have dual-band or multi-band phone that you think might work here. If you find out it will, then the only issue is getting a 220v (versus 110v) charger. Sorry, but we cannot help you figure out your type of phone and whether it will work here.

3."Is it any cheaper to stay with an annual fee activation card and prepay usage, rather than getting a monthly billed GSM card?" No. a GSM card is cheaper in the long run, and you get a statement and listing of calls and costs, something you don’t get with the prepay system. So, switching over at some point (not a difficult process) is a good idea.  

Contact me for more information:

If you have more questions regarding this offer, please don't hesitate to contact me, Leigh Butler at Dubai  Women's College  by phone at 971 4 2672929 or by e-mail at expatinfo@hct.ac.ae

See you soon!

Order Form

This page was last updated by Leigh Butler on December 25, 2005