UAE operator du has refreshed its international roaming portfolio for the summer travel season, adding cheaper weekly access alongside substantially larger data and voice allowances.

The new line-up starts with a seven-day, data-only bundle priced at AED 70 for 5 GB. Travellers who still rely on their UAE number for calls can choose AED 100 for 5 GB and 50 voice minutes, while the AED 200 option increases the allowance to 30 GB and 300 minutes. All three can be purchased through the du App.

The most important change is not simply “more data”. It is the wider spread between a light-use plan and a genuinely travel-ready package. Five gigabytes should cover maps, messaging, ride-hailing and moderate social use during a short trip. Thirty gigabytes is more realistic for travellers working remotely, sharing a hotspot or uploading plenty of video.

Du has also upgraded selected existing bundles, doubling voice allowances on some plans, lifting one data allocation from 2 GB to 10 GB and introducing unlimited data at the upper end. The operator has not published one universal package for every traveller, however; availability and supported networks still depend on the destination and selected plan.

Check before take-off

That detail matters. Du says its roaming bundles are available across more than 120 destinations and operate through preferred partner networks. Customers should therefore check the eligible operator before departure rather than assuming any network displayed after landing will consume the bundle.

Roaming must also be active on the line. Customers can confirm this by texting “roaming” to 5102. Data roaming needs to be enabled on the handset, and du recommends restarting the phone after arrival if it does not connect automatically.

READ MORE: Travel Roaming Guide: eSIMs, Costs and Coverage

There are useful safeguards. Du says data is blocked when no eligible allowance is available, protecting customers from accidental pay-per-use charges. It also sends usage alerts at 70%, 80% and 100%, with balances visible in the app. Data-only bundles can be bought before travel and begin with first use abroad, while voice-and-data bundles activate immediately when purchased, so timing the purchase matters.

Automatic app updates, cloud backups and video uploads remain the quiet bundle killers. A traveller buying 5 GB should disable them before boarding, not after discovering that the first hotel Wi-Fi was less reliable than expected.

Stronger, but not automatically cheapest

Within the UAE operator market, du’s AED 70 entry point is competitive. E&’s Roam Like Home weekly data pack starts at AED 100, while its weekly voice-and-data option costs AED 250 and lets eligible postpaid customers use domestic plan allowances abroad. The products are structured differently, but du now offers a clearer low-cost choice for customers who want to keep their primary SIM active.

That convenience is the main argument for operator roaming: the same number, existing billing relationship and no second profile to install. It will suit families, business travellers and anyone who needs to receive calls or banking messages on their UAE line.

It is less compelling for heavy data users travelling for several weeks, people visiting destinations outside du’s preferred network list, or travellers whose priority is the lowest possible price per gigabyte. A local SIM or travel eSIM may offer better value, although many travel eSIMs remain data-only and provide neither a UAE number nor conventional voice roaming.

Conclusion

Du’s refresh shows how traditional operators are responding to the travel eSIM boom: not by abandoning roaming, but by making it easier to understand, cheaper to enter and harder to overspend on. GSMA Intelligence has identified travel eSIM as a fast-growing roaming use case, while Juniper Research estimated travel eSIM package revenue would reach $1.8 billion in 2025.

The competitive question is therefore shifting. Travellers are no longer choosing between connectivity and no connectivity; they are comparing operator roaming, local plans and downloadable eSIMs before they fly. Du’s new bundles are a credible answer, particularly at AED 70 and AED 200. The next improvement should be even clearer destination-level pricing and a simple view of which local network delivers the best experience in each market.