Dubai Media City

Dubai International Media City
Company typefree economic zone
Founded2000; 24 years ago (2000)
Headquarters
Dubai
,
United Arab Emirates
Key people
OwnerDubai Holding
Websitedmc.ae
Dubai Media City

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

History and profile

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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.[5]

Censorship

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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.[6]

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'.[7] 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.[8][9] 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.[10][11][9][12]

See also

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References

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  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. ^ a b 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. ^ "Madinat Jumeirah - Dubai, AE Meeting Venues and Event Space | Cvent". www-eur.cvent.com. Retrieved 2024-09-15.
  6. ^ "Pakistan's private Geo TV says forced to shut down". Reuters. 2007-11-16. Retrieved 2021-11-29.
  7. ^ "UAE's du starts restricting Internet access".
  8. ^ "UPDATE 3-Undersea cable breaks cut Internet in Mideast, Asia". Reuters. 2008-12-20. Retrieved 2021-11-29.
  9. ^ a b Reardon, Marguerite. "Damaged undersea cables disrupting service". CNET. Retrieved 2021-11-29.
  10. ^ Zetter, Kim. "Undersea Cables Cut; 14 Countries Lose Web -- Updated". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2021-11-29.
  11. ^ "Undersea Cable Cuts in the Mediterranean Affected 14 Countries - Submarine Networks". www.submarinenetworks.com. Retrieved 2021-11-29.
  12. ^ "Three Undersea Cables Cuts Cause Significant Disruption in Europe and Asia". circleid.com. Retrieved 2021-11-29.
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25°5′34″N 55°9′10″E / 25.09278°N 55.15278°E / 25.09278; 55.15278

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