Thousands of free Wi-Fi hotspots in Dubai

According to the Government of Dubai, the emirate has an extensive network of more than 23.6 thousand free Wi-Fi hotspots. Residents and visitors can freely use the internet thanks to Wi-Fi hotspots in parks, beaches, shopping centres and many other public places.

According to the Dubai Digital Authority, the emirate has come very far in two decades in its digital development. It started with an e-government initiative in 2000. This was followed by the Smart Government initiative in 2013 and a comprehensive digital programme to eliminate paper-based transactions by the end of 2021.

The Dubai government also shared some statistics on the digital technologies already implemented and working. For example, the level of digitisation of government services has reached 99.5% and the goal of eliminating paper-based transactions has been achieved at 100%. In addition, more than 120 government smartphone apps have been developed, cybersecurity scores for government agencies have exceeded 80 per cent, and compliance with the Data Law is at 100 per cent.

With the Dubai Now app, residents can now access more than 170 public and commercial sector services from over 35 organisations. These include paying for parking, applying for a visa, filing a police report, disposing of rubbish and reporting a road accident.

Over 23 million transactions worth more than Dh12bn have been recorded since the service was launched. The app processed around 2.6 million transactions in the first half of 2023 alone, compared to 2.1 million in the same period of 2022, representing a year-on-year growth of 24 per cent.

Dubai Digital Authority’s new strategy aims to utilise smart solutions to improve the quality of life for citizens and residents, and to create an advanced digital economy.

Source: Khaleej Times

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