From the point of view of ADSL connectivity for Internet, there is a situation in the Middle East which is not homogeneous. There are, in effect, extensive areas in which it is not possible to access the Network, even within large cities. The Digital Divide encounters, on the other hand, an insuperable barrier in the United Arab Emirates, where large urban centres enjoy a high degree of connectivity and, among these, Dubai is the most cabled city in the entire Middle Eastern area (it emerges that it offers even better connectivity compared to many western metropolises) and it is supported by a network of infrastructures among the most advanced in the world.
Thanks also to this, Dubai has gradually transformed itself into the right place for the business and commercial activities of the entire basin, precisely because it is able to offer to companies and businessmen, coming in considerable measure from Central Asia, Africa, the Asian Sub Continent, the inner Mediterranean basin and the Middle East itself, services and facilities which are top of the range, allowing for optimal realisation of projects, meetings, conferences and whatever else is required in the most advanced economic practice. Thanks to these precious elements, Dubai has been for years the heart of Information and Communication (ICT) in the Middle East, with an extremely high index of annual growth.
In its territory, the public and private sectors in equal measure constantly adopt new forms of technology, thus favouring an increase in demand for ICT tools, applications and related services, which, in turn, offer extraordinary business opportunities to companies involved in this branch of the market.
Another significant impulse in the Dubai success story as business capital derives undoubtedly from the fact that it is tax free, and the enormous potential of this characteristic requires no further explanation.
In such a favourable and aim-specific context, Dubai Internet City (DIC) was born to bring together, in a concentrated fashion, the most advanced technology, the most suitable legislative instruments and the best economic and financial conditions, with a view to producing business which is dynamic and profitable and capable of offering excellent prospects in the middle to long term, guaranteeing, moreover, significant levels of employment, given that regulations oblige companies operating in the DIC to recruit at least 2 employees.
Companies operating in the following sectors can send an entrance application for the DIC community:
- Central regional headquarters
- Web based activities
- Software development
- Information Technology
- Consultancy companies
- Business services
Last but not least: Dubai is also the most important location in the entire Middle Eastern area for trade fairs, conferences, meetings and exhibitions, which create a further highly developed network of contacts and opportunities.
Photograph provided courtesy of Qamaal Mustafa Sikander