Dubai Media City

Last updated
Dubai International Media City
Company type Free Economic Zone
Founded2000;24 years ago (2000)
Headquarters,
Key people
Owner Dubai Holding
Website dmc.ae
Dubai Media City Media City (12619096174).jpg
Dubai Media City

Dubai Media City (DMC), part of Dubai Holding, is a tax-free zone within Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Contents

History and profile

The Dubai Media City was established and built in 2000 [1] and inaugurated in January 2001 [2] by the government of Dubai to boost UAE's media foothold. Since then, it has become a regional hub for media organizations including news agencies, publishing, online media, advertising, production, and broadcast facilities. The groundwork for infrastructure (such as fiber optic cables) was already in place for firms to set up easily and its visa and operational procedures are relaxed for firms operating within DMC. [2] [3]

Dubai Media City has become a major hub for the media industry in the GCC and the Middle East, with more than 1,300 companies being registered under the Free Zone, from where they serve the entire region. It also houses the International Cricket Council, the governing body for the game of cricket in the world, which was previously situated in London [4] up to 2005.

On April 14, 2005, Irish vocal pop band Westlife held a concert for their The No 1's Tour supporting their album ...Allow Us to Be Frank .

Censorship

On 16 November 2007, the Dubai government ordered Tecom (implemented by Du Samacom, by disabling their SDI and ASI streams) to shut down the Pakistani independent and private channels Geo News TV and ARY One World on the demand of the military regime of Pakistan led by General and President Pervez Musharraf. Later policy makers in Dubai permitted these channels to air their entertainment programs, but news, current affairs and political analysis were forbidden to be aired. Later, however, the conditions were removed but a marked difference has been observed in the coverage of Geo TV and ARY OneWorld. [5]

On 13 April 2008, du EITC – the second telecommunications operator in the UAE – announced that all of its traffic would be routed via the UAE's censorship proxy which blocks access to any content deemed 'inappropriate'. On January 30, 2008, an incident revealed the size of problem, when fibre optic cables between Palermo, Italy, and Alexandria, Egypt were said to have been damaged. [6] [7] There was a significant slowdown of communications. The UAE telecommunications company and DMC's internet service provider du EITC was one of the worst hit. Since du EITC has a monopoly in the Free Zones, customers had no alternative connectivity during the outage. On 19 December 2008 the three submarine cables between Italy and Egypt were damaged again, disrupting Internet and telephone communications between UAE and Europe, as reported by Bloomberg. [8] [9] [7] [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

Telecommunications in Saudi Arabia have evolved early in the Kingdom since the establishment the Directorate of Post, Telephone and Telegraph (PTT) in 1926.

Telecommunications in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is under the control and supervision of the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority which was established under UAE Federal Law by Decree No. 3 of 2003. From 1976 to 2006 the Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat) was the sole telephone and telecommunications provider for the UAE. And while there were exceptions for free zones and modern housing developments, for the majority of the UAE, Etisalat held a monopoly on business and personal telecommunications services. In February 2006, this monopoly became a duopoly when a new telephone company and Internet service provider (ISP), du, was established to offer mobile services across the UAE and Internet and TV services to some free zone areas. However, due to geographical distribution of service areas, the companies do not compete for customers and thus effectively operate as monopolies. Earlier du provided triple play services to free zone areas under the name Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), which is still its legal name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Submarine communications cable</span> Transoceanic communication line placed on the seabed

A submarine communications cable is a cable laid on the seabed between land-based stations to carry telecommunication signals across stretches of ocean and sea. The first submarine communications cables were laid beginning in the 1850s and carried telegraphy traffic, establishing the first instant telecommunications links between continents, such as the first transatlantic telegraph cable which became operational on 16 August 1858.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Telecommunications in Armenia</span>

Telecommunications in Armenia involves the availability and use of electronic devices and services, such as the telephone, television, radio or computer, for the purpose of communication. The various telecommunications systems found and used in Armenia includes radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the internet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dubai</span> Most populous city in the United Arab Emirates

Dubai is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the country's seven emirates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Etisalat by e&</span> Multinational telecommunications company of the United Arab Emirates

Emirates Telecommunications Group Company PJSC, doing business as etisalat by e&, is a UAE state-owned telecommunications company. It is the 18th largest mobile network operator in the world by number of subscribers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SAT-3/WASC</span>

SAT-3/WASC or South Atlantic 3/West Africa Submarine Cable is a submarine communications cable linking Portugal and Spain to South Africa, with connections to several West African countries along the route.

Fibre-optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) is a 28,000-kilometre-long fibre optic mostly-submarine communications cable that connects the United Kingdom, Japan, India, and many places in between. The cable is operated by Global Cloud Xchange, a subsidiary of RCOM. The system runs from the eastern coast of North America to Japan. Its Europe–Asia segment was the fourth longest cable in the world in 2008.

SEA-ME-WE3 or South-East Asia - Middle East - Western Europe 3 is an optical submarine telecommunications cable linking those regions and is the longest in the world. Completed in late 2000, it is led by France Telecom and China Telecom, and is administered by Singtel, a telecommunications operator owned by the Government of Singapore. The Consortium is formed by 92 other investors from the telecom industry. It was commissioned in March 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SEA-ME-WE 4</span> Submarine communications cable system

South East Asia–Middle East–Western Europe 4 is an optical fibre submarine communications cable system that carries telecommunications between Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Italy, Tunisia, Algeria and France. It is intended to be a complement to, rather than a replacement for, the SEA-ME-WE 3 cable.

APCN 2 or Asia-Pacific Cable Network 2 is a submarine telecommunications cable linking several countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

du (company) Dubai-based domestic telecom provider

Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company P.J.S.C., commercially rebranded as du (دو) in February 2007, is one of the two main telecom operators in the United Arab Emirates. du offers fixed line, mobile telephony, internet and digital television services across the UAE. It also provides carrier services, a data hub, internet exchange facilities and satellite service for broadcasters. It expanded its services in support of economic and social transformation of UAE and operates subsidiaries such as EITC Investment Holdings Limited, Edara, Smart Dubai Platform Project Company LLC and EITC Singapore PTE. LTD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 Hengchun earthquakes</span> Earthquakes and tsunami near Taiwan

The 2006 Hengchun earthquakes occurred on December 26 at 20:26 and 20:34 local time off the southwest coast of Taiwan in the Luzon Strait, which connects the South China Sea with the Philippine Sea. The International Seismological Centre measured the shocks at 7.0 and 6.9 on the moment magnitude scale. The earthquakes not only caused casualties and building damage, but several submarine communications cables were cut, disrupting telecommunication services in various parts of Asia.

TEAMS is an initiative spearheaded by the government of Kenya to link the country to the rest of the world through a submarine fibre optic cable. It was first proposed as an alternative to EASSy, the East African Submarine Cable System. The Kenyan government had grown frustrated with the ownership model favoured by South Africa, the time it was taking and what it perceived as an attempt by South Africa to control the cable. As a result, in November 2006, the Kenyan government decided to partner with the Emirates Telecommunication Establishment (Etisalat) to build its own fibre optic cable.

The 2008 submarine cable disruption refers to three separate incidents of major damage to submarine optical communication cables around the world. The first incident caused damage involving up to five high-speed Internet submarine communications cables in the Mediterranean Sea and Middle East from 23 January to 4 February 2008, causing internet disruptions and slowdowns for users in the Middle East and India. The incident called into doubt the safety of the undersea portion of the Internet cable system.

SHEFA-2 is an undersea communication cable linking the Faroe Islands to mainland Scotland via the Northern Isles. It is named after the route on which it is being deployed (SHEtland-FAroes) and succeeds an earlier cable called SHEFA-1 on the same route.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human rights in Dubai</span>

Human rights in Dubai are based on the Constitution and enacted law, which promise equitable treatment of all people, regardless of race, nationality or social status, per Article 25 of the Constitution of the United Arab Emirates. Despite this, Freedom House has stated: "Extreme forms of self-censorship are widely practiced, particularly regarding issues such as local politics, culture, religion, or any other subject the government deems politically or culturally sensitive. The Dubai Media Free Zone (DMFZ), an area in which foreign media outlets produce print and broadcast material intended for foreign audiences, is the only arena where the press operates with relative freedom."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ARY Digital</span> Pakistani television channel

ARY Digital HD is a Pakistani television network available in Pakistan. ARY Digital was founded by a Dubai-based holding company Pakistani businessman, Abdul Razzak Yaqoob (ARY). The network is focused towards on Pakistani entertainment dramas, sitcoms, talk shows, web series and culture.

Tonga Cable System is a submarine fiber-optic cable system connecting Tonga with Fiji, where it connects to other international networks. It is 827 kilometres (514 mi) long and was activated in 2013. It has cable landing points at Sopu, a suburb of Nukuʻalofa in Tonga, and Suva, Fiji. The project was funded by Asian Development Bank and the World Bank.

References

  1. Christopher Davidson (30 September 2013). After the Sheikhs: The Coming Collapse of the Gulf Monarchies . Oxford University Press, USA. p.  46. ISBN   978-0-19-936528-9 . Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  2. 1 2 Terterov, Marat (2006). Doing Business with the United Arab Emirates. GMB Publishing Ltd. ISBN   978-1-905050-72-7.
  3. Guaaybess, Tourya (2013-01-04). National Broadcasting and State Policy in Arab Countries. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN   978-0-230-36716-6.[ permanent dead link ]
  4. "Dubai Media City". Business-Dubai.com. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  5. "Pakistan's private Geo TV says forced to shut down". Reuters. 2007-11-16. Retrieved 2021-11-29.
  6. "UDPATE 3-Undersea cable breaks cut Internet in Mideast, Asia". Reuters. 2008-12-20. Retrieved 2021-11-29.
  7. 1 2 Reardon, Marguerite. "Damaged undersea cables disrupting service". CNET. Retrieved 2021-11-29.
  8. Zetter, Kim. "Undersea Cables Cut; 14 Countries Lose Web -- Updated". Wired. ISSN   1059-1028 . Retrieved 2021-11-29.
  9. "Undersea Cable Cuts in the Mediterranean Affected 14 Countries - Submarine Networks". www.submarinenetworks.com. Retrieved 2021-11-29.
  10. "Three Undersea Cables Cuts Cause Significant Disruption in Europe and Asia". circleid.com. Retrieved 2021-11-29.

25°5′34″N55°9′10″E / 25.09278°N 55.15278°E / 25.09278; 55.15278