Dubai Internet City - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Dubai Internet City is an information technology park created by the government of Dubai

Dubai

Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...

as a free economic zone

Free economic zone

Many countries have, or have had at some time, designated areas where companies are taxed very lightly or not at all to encourage development or for some other reason...

and a strategic base for companies targeting regional emerging markets. The economic rules of DIC allow companies to avail themselves of a number of ownership, taxation and custom related benefits which are guaranteed by law for a period of 50 years. One model of operation includes 100% foreign ownership

Foreign ownership

Foreign ownership refers to the complete or majority ownership/control of a business or resource in a country by individuals who are not citizens of that country, or by companies whose headquarters are not in that country.-See also:...

, similar to those prevalililing in other designated economic zones in the United Arab Emirates

United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...

. These freedoms have led many global information technology

Information technology

Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...

firms, such as Microsoft

Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...

, IBM

IBM

International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...

, Oracle Corporation

Oracle Corporation

Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation that specializes in developing and marketing hardware systems and enterprise software products – particularly database management systems...

, Infor Global Solutions

Infor Global Solutions

Infor Global Solutions is a privately held U.S. software company that specializes in enterprise software ranging from financial systems and resource planning to supply chain and customer relationships.-Company overview:...

, Sun Microsystems

Sun Microsystems

Sun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982...

, Cisco

Cisco

Cisco may refer to:Companies:*Cisco Systems, a computer networking company* Certis CISCO, corporatised entity of the former Commercial and Industrial Security Corporation in Singapore...

, HP, Nokia

Nokia

Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...

, Cognizant and Siemens

Siemens AG

Siemens AG is a German multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Munich, Germany. It is the largest Europe-based electronics and electrical engineering company....

, as well as UAE based companies such as i-mate

I-mate

i-mate was a company selling Windows Mobile-powered devices. The Group was launched by Jim Morrison, who began his telecoms career at sea with Cable & Wireless and was later involved in the team at O2 that designed the first O2 Xda Pocket PC phone...

, Acette

Acette

Acette is an Information Technology System Integrator, Software Engineering and Consulting firm headquartered in Dubai Internet City. Acette provides technology strategy consulting services, enterprise application integration services, Information technology enabled services and Value-added...

, to move their regional base to the DIC. DIC is located adjacent to other industrial clusters such as Dubai Media City

Dubai Media City

Dubai Media City , part of Dubai Holding, is a tax-free zone within Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It has been built by the Dubai government to boost UAE's media foothold, and has become a regional hub for media organizations including news agencies, publishing, online media, advertising, production,...

and Dubai Knowledge Village

Dubai Knowledge Village

Dubai Knowledge Village is a educational free trade zone campus in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, that provides facilities for training and learning institutions to operate with 100% foreign ownership. There are over 400 institutions operating within it, which include universities,...

.

DIC presently has over one and half million square feet of prime commercial office space, in which over 850 companies with over 10,000 workers are based.

Connectivity

On 13 April 2008, du

Du (telco)

The Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company is a telecommunications company in the United Arab Emirates. Although Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company is its legal name, it was commercially rebranded as du in February 2006...

(EITC) announced that all of its traffic would be routed via the UAE's censorship proxy which blocks access to any content deemed 'inappropriate'. du had been previously blocking VOIP services.

While Dubai Internet City sells itself as a business-friendly environment with excellent low cost connectivity, the reality is one of a heavily censored internet with prices that are 5-10 times the price of connectivity in Europe or the USA. In addition to webpage censorship, it is speculated that a variety of popular social networking services are blocked. Cheap calls to the UAE are not possible due to a termination charge of around 17p (UK, around 30 US cents) per minute imposed by the UAE phone networks. Internet connectivity in Dubai is expensive; a 0.5mbit home connection costs around 200 AED per month (about 45 USD). The minimum internet connectivity package available for businesses at DIC is a 2mbit connection with a 6GB monthly limit for around 800 AED (180 USD). Bandwidth beyond the 6GB limit is charged at a higher pro-rata rate than the first 6GB.

The UAE proxy can be bypassed by various methods including by setting up a VPN to connect securely to a server in another country to reduce the amount of Internet censorship

Internet censorship

Internet censorship is the control or suppression of the publishing of, or access to information on the Internet. It may be carried out by governments or by private organizations either at the behest of government or on their own initiative...

, with the advantage that UAE authorities cannot 'snoop' on the traffic. While the UAE may block access to the web sites companies providing VPN services, it is possible to arrange overseas accounts. Such options significantly reduce costs as VOIP systems can be used; for companies who require access to services or content that is blocked, VPNs are a necessity.

Around 11.15 AM on January 30, 2008, a ship's anchor apparently severed fibre optic cables between Palermo, Italy, and Alexandria, Egypt. Providers across the Middle East and as far as India and Pakistan were heavily affected with a significant slowdown of communications reported. The UAE telecommunications company and Dubai Internet City's internet service provider du

Du (telco)

was one of the worst hit, having been completely inoperational for several hours. Since du has a monopoly in the Free Zones, customers had no alternative connectivity during the outage.

History

Dubai Internet City, a member of Dubai Holding subsidiary TECOM Investments, opened its doors in October 2000.

Dubai Internet City (DIC) provides a knowledge economy

Knowledge economy

The knowledge economy is a term that refers either to an economy of knowledge focused on the production and management of knowledge in the frame of economic constraints, or to a knowledge-based economy. In the second meaning, more frequently used, it refers to the use of knowledge technologies to...

ecosystem designed to facilitate the business development of Internet and Communications Technology (ICT) companies. It is the Middle East's biggest ICT infrastructure, built inside a free trade zone.

The global ICT giants like Microsoft

Microsoft

, Oracle Corporation

Oracle Corporation

, HP, IBM

IBM

, Dell

Dell

Dell, Inc. is an American multinational information technology corporation based in 1 Dell Way, Round Rock, Texas, United States, that develops, sells and supports computers and related products and services. Bearing the name of its founder, Michael Dell, the company is one of the largest...

, Siemens

Siemens

Siemens may refer toSiemens, a German family name carried by generations of telecommunications industrialists, including:* Werner von Siemens , inventor, founder of Siemens AG...

, Canon, Logica, Sony Ericsson

Sony Ericsson

Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB is a joint venture established on October 1, 2001 by the Japanese consumer electronics company Sony Corporation and the Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson to manufacture mobile phones....

, Schlumberger

Schlumberger

Schlumberger Limited is the world's largest oilfield services company. Schlumberger employs over 110,000 people of more than 140 nationalities working in approximately 80 countries...

and Cisco

Cisco

Cisco may refer to:Companies:*Cisco Systems, a computer networking company* Certis CISCO, corporatised entity of the former Commercial and Industrial Security Corporation in Singapore...

, as well as many small and medium enterprises and entrepreneurial ventures are based in DIC. The ICT cluster in Dubai Internet City comprises companies from sectors like software development, business services, e-commerce, consultancy and sales and marketing. Local bred technology companies like Ducont FZ LLC which was one of the earliest startups at DIC have showed that innovation is possible in the region and quite successful at that.

The cluster environment of DIC provides most elements of the value chain for an ICT business. In addition, it has developed programmes that can be leveraged by the ICT community to explore and expand channel and business development opportunities.

Economics

Dubai Internet City, like the whole of Dubai, has seen rapid growth, with the Emirate's GDP rising at double digit rates. However, since 2003 inflation has climbed rapidly too, making real GDP growth significantly lower. The latest official government figures (2006) state inflation of 9.6%. By spring 2008, the level is somewhere over 10%, and approaching 20% according to the estimates of some international banks.

The government has implemented price controls on rent rises as well as fuel and basic commodities such as rice, but these cannot be viewed as effective long term anti-inflation measures in a market economy. The UAE has continued to reiterate the commitment to pegging its currency to a continually weakening dollar, which rules out significant interest rate rises - the accepted inflation-fighting tool in developed countries. Federal Reserve interest rate cuts of 1.25% in January 2008 have been mirrored by the UAE Central Bank, which is certain to fuel inflation further and weaken the currency.

In March 2008, DIC announced a rental increase to 180 AED

AED

AED may refer to:* Anhidrotic ectodermal dysplasia, a genetic disorder* Automated external defibrillator, a portable electronic device that diagnoses and can correct arrhythmia of the heart....

per square foot - a 25% rise (the government's rent cap on private landlords is 5% for 2008). The DIC statement accompanying the release said "operating costs have shot up recently due to economic growth in the region". It made no mention of the decision by the UAE government in November 2007 to hike federal government employees salaries by 70%.. In late 2008, Dubai property prices began to crash heavily, falling by up to 50% over the next six months. Rents across the emirate fell heavily and many jobs were lost, particularly in real estate. Despite this, DIC rents have not been reduced as of December 2009. The present rent of 160 AED(Juli '11) including service charge(electricity) is roughly double the present rents available in the areas immediately outside DIC.

Location

Dubai Internet City is about 25 kilometers south of downtown Dubai city, on Sheikh Zayed Road between Dubai

Dubai

and Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western...

. It is located adjacent to Dubai Marina

Dubai Marina

Dubai Marina is a district in the heart of what has become known as "new Dubai" in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Dubai Marina is a canal city, carved along a two mile stretch of Persian Gulf shoreline. When the entire development is complete, it will accommodate more than 120,000 people in...

, Jumeirah Beach Residence

Jumeirah Beach Residence

Jumeirah Beach Residence is a long, gross floor area waterfront community located against the Arabic Gulf in Dubai Marina in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is the largest single phase residential development in the world and contains 40 towers...

and the well-known Palm Jumeirah

Palm Jumeirah

The Palm Jumeirah is an artificial archipelago created using land reclamation by Nakheel, a company owned by the Dubai government in United Arab Emirates. It is one of three islands called the Palm Islands which extend into the Persian Gulf, increasing Dubai’s shoreline by a total of...

, areas which are rapidly becoming three of the most exclusive (and expensive) residential areas of Dubai. DIC is less than 1 km from the sea coast and is near several five star hotels.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.