Etisalat Profile

Emirates Telecommunications Corporation- Etisalat

Etisalat has been the telecommunications service provider in the United Arab Emirates since 1976 and is the number one mobile operator in the UAE. For three decades, since the birth of the UAE, it has played a key role in driving and supporting the nation’s prosperity. Famous for over 30 years for delivering technological excellence, innovation and reliability, Etisalat is on track to be a top 20 Global Telco by 2010 - pioneering technology for tomorrow’s customers.

Etisalat’s network has always, and continues, to be the backbone of the UAE. It created a world-class communications infrastructure for the UAE, enabling UAE companies to compete on a global stage which includes providing mobile services for over 5 million customers. The UAE is growing and changing at a phenomenal rate. Etisalat is leading this charge - taking its customers and partners into the future. 

Penetration of Etisalat’s mobile phone service in the UAE is 142%, over 6.1m subscribers. At the end of August 2007, fixed line services reached 1.3m lines and internet dial-up subscribers reached 480,000 and 250,000 AL Shamil Broadband subscribers. The addition 1m new mobile subscribers in the year when Etisalat’s first competitor entered the market is a testament to the quality of Etisalat’s services. Network coverage is unparalleled and internationally Etisalat has over 420 international roaming partners.

Etisalat offers fixed line services over its Next Generation Network, and provides mobile users with a range of services and applications such as GPRS, 3G, BlackBerry and MobileCam. Etisalat provides broadband internet access to the entire UAE and is currently working on rolling out triple play services, which will incorporate high-speed Internet, TV and fixed line offerings all via one cable. In addition to voice and data networks Etisalat also has many other offerings including the E-Vision cable TV network.

Internationally Etisalat provides telecommunications services in 14 countries in Africa, the Asia and Africa and continues to pursue new mobile and fixed line opportunities in many growth markets. At the end of June 2007 Etisalat has a total 28 million subscribers over its international operations.

The Middle East magazine has ranked Etisalat first in the United Arab Emirates and fourth in the Middle East among the top 100 companies, based on its financial performance and capital growth. The corporation was also selected as one of the top 500 companies based on market capitalisation according to the ‘Financial Times’. It was ranked as the 6th best performing Arab company by ‘Forbes Arabia’ magazine for the year 2006, which included more than 1600 Arab joint stock companies in various sectors. Arabian Business magazine reported Etisalat as the most admired telecommunications company in the Gulf in 2007.